SINGAPORE – He flashed a rueful smile after saving three match points, for he knew salvaging seven more was an improbable task against a top opponent.
And so, world champion Loh Kean Yew’s first All England Open outing ended in the first round as he was beaten by Denmark’s world No. 3 Anders Antonsen 21-15, 18-21, 21-13 in 74 minutes at the Utilita Arena Birmingham on Wednesday (March 16).
While they are both 24, Antonsen’s experience of playing in his sixth consecutive All England Open made a difference. The Dane was knocked out in the first round in his first three attempts, before he made it to the 2020 and 2021 semi-finals.
He also learnt from losing to Loh in the semi-final of last year’s World Championships in their first encounter, and controlled the pace for most of the three-game thriller.
They were neck and neck for the first half of the first game, with Antonsen holding a slender 11-9 lead at the interval, before they took turns to go on runs which ended in the Danish player’s favour.
The Singaporean world No. 9 then stepped up a gear in the second game and attacked his opponent’s forehand corner more frequently to set up more attacking opportunities at the net.
While it was similarly close with Antonsen leading 11-10, Loh forced him into making numerous errors, racing to a 20-15 lead before closing out the game.
But Loh could not muster another upset as his shots in the decider were often too flat, allowing Antonsen to intercept mid-court. An 11-4 advantage swelled to 20-10, which proved insurmountable for the Singaporean.
Loh exited the US$1 million (S$1.36 million) Badminton World Federation World Tour Super 1000 tournament with a cheque for US$990 and will now turn his attention to the March 22-27 Swiss Open, a Super 300 event, where he faces Dutch world No. 25 Mark Caljouw in the first round.
The world champion has had an up-and-down start to the year as he made the India Open final in January and helped Singapore win a historic bronze at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in February, before losing in the first round of the German Open on March 9.
