RACHAEL DARRAGH MADE a brilliant start to her first ever Olympic match but was hauled back and defeated by Switzerland’s Jenjira Stadelmann in their badminton singles group opener this evening.

Darragh, a native of Raphoe, Co. Donegal, had match point at 22-21 over the Swiss woman in the second set only for Stadelmann to survive it and win the set 24-22, levelling the match before clinching it with a 21-15 win in the third.

Competing in a tough group of three with number-four seed Carolina Marin of Spain as well as Stadelmann, the 26-year-old Darragh knew a positive start was paramount and when she won the opening set 21-13, she appeared to be on her way.

Stadelmann’s resilience in the second was illustrative of her own pedigree as a European bronze medallist, however, and she recovered from the brink of defeat to leave Olympic debutant Darragh on the precipice of elimination in the group stage.

Darragh will take on Spain’s former Olympic champion and three-time world champion Marin in the final game on Wednesday at 1pm.

Marin beat Stadelmann 2-0 in the group opener and will be the heavy favourite for Wednesday’s meeting with Darragh.