Loh Kean Yew wants more success after advancing to Singapore Badminton Open quarter-finals

SINGAPORE – Ninety minutes before his match on May 30, Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew popped into the media centre looking for an early dinner.

After downing some fried rice and salmon, the world No. 12 also demonstrated his appetite for a fight at the US$850,000 (S$1.15 million) KFF Singapore Badminton Open with a crowd-pleasing 21-15, 11-21, 22-20 win over Denmark’s fourth-ranked Anders Antonsen at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The second-round victory in the men’s singles helped him earn a quarter-final spot against China’s world No. 6 Li Shifeng on May 31.

Reminded about his earlier visit, he told The Straits Times with a laugh: “Hungry already. But I’m glad I managed to win in the end because it was so crazy and it could have gone either way at 20-20.”

In front of 5,540 spectators that included Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong, Loh made a slow start, trailing 1-5 in the opener before he adapted to the wind conditions.

Taking the game to the net, he gradually assumed control and went into the interval at 11-9 up for a lead he never relinquished.

But Antonsen showed the qualities that made him a three-time world championship medallist, as he limited the home favourite’s attacking opportunities to level the match.

Despite being on the more advantageous side against the draught, Loh saw his 6-3 lead in the decider evaporate as he stared at an 11-9 deficit when the players changed sides at the interval.

Throwing caution to the wind, he then played more aggressively, smashing more freely as he went on a 9-1 run to lead 18-12, before Antonsen mounted his own impressive comeback to make it 19-19.

However, feeding off the energy from the raucous crowd who backed his challenges and cheered his winners, Loh sealed victory with his second match point.

After entertaining wefie requests from fans, he said: “I guess this is what they call home-ground advantage and I’m very glad that the crowd was on my side.

“I had a more controlled rhythm in the second half of the decider, but Anders is a very experienced player. I just tried to keep focused and at that moment, I just chiong ah (Singlish for go for it).”

Ahead of his clash with Asian Games champion Li, whom he has beaten four times before losing their most recent meeting in June 2023, Loh said: “I’m going to rest and prepare myself for another tough match as he has grown a lot over the past few years.”

Elsewhere in the men’s singles, the biggest upset of the day was recorded by Malaysia’s world No. 36 Leong Jun Hao, who beat Indonesia’s two-time defending champion Anthony Ginting 21-14, 10-21, 21-8.

The 24-year-old former Asian junior champion, who will face Denmark’s world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen in the last eight, said: “This is a breakthrough win for me against a strong opponent whom I’ve not beaten before.

“In our previous two matches, I was the one under pressure but today I was more proactive.

“I have not played against Viktor before, but I’ll try to have a similarly positive approach.”

World No. 7 Ginting, who is still looking for a first title since his mother’s death on Aug 9, declined to blame the wind conditions or the lack of game time for his shock loss.

He said: “When you face such situations, you must figure out what you must do and make the right decision. I made a lot of unforced errors, while Leong played better to overcome the challenges on the court.

“I don’t think not playing in the past few weeks had any impact.”

In the women’s singles, Spain’s world No. 3 Carolina Marin and India’s 12th-ranked P.V. Sindhu served up another gripping match in the 17th meeting of a storied rivalry that has seen them clash in the 2016 Olympic and 2018 world championships finals.

Despite nursing a sprained neck, Marin felt her psychological edge from a superior 11-5 head-to-head record helped her win 13-21, 21-11, 22-20, and set up a quarter-final with Thailand’s world No. 20 Pornpawee Chochuwong.

Defending champion and South Korea’s world No. 1 An Se-young also did not have it easy, as she beat 28th-ranked Taiwanese Hsu Wen-chi 21-23, 21-11, 21-19. She will face former world No. 1 Nozomi Okuhara for a place in the semi-finals.