Loh Kean Yew runs out of steam, gets knocked out in KFF Singapore Badminton Open q-finals
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Singapore's Loh Kean Yew lost 21-19, 21-16 to China’s world No. 6 Li Shifeng on May 31.
ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
SINGAPORE – As much as his inconsistency is frustrating for fans to watch, no one is more hurt by Loh Kean Yew’s inability to convert advantageous situations into wins than him.
After relinquishing considerable leads to lose 21-19, 21-16 to China’s world No. 6 Li Shifeng in their men’s singles quarter-final at the KFF Singapore Badminton Open on May 31, he cursed under his own breath before delivering a scathing assessment of his performance.
The 26-year-old, who thanked fans for their support and took home US$4,675 (S$6,300) in prize money, said: “I was not brave enough to execute the game plan and I restricted myself a lot.
“I was very confident at the start and playing very well. But as he caught up and I made some errors, the confidence level just kept dropping. After that, I just got scared.
“The plan was to be patient while taking the initiative at the right moments. I did that at the start and played quite well. But after that, I tried to take the initiative, but I wasn’t patient. Then I was passive and didn’t take the initiative... it was bad.”
In front of 5,860 fans, who included Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, world No. 12 Loh got off to a roaring start.
There were rallies of over 20 shots and he barely put a stroke wrong as he raced to a 12-5 lead. But the errors started creeping in as Asian Games champion Li chipped away before taking the opener 21-19.
The second game followed a similar vein as Loh won enthralling rallies with a mix of delicate drops and cross-court smashes to lead 10-6. But he was not aggressive enough when he needed to be, and Li took over with solid defence and precise attacks.
As fans chanted his name, Loh narrowed the gap to 15-18, before Li shrugged off the boos that accompanied his medical timeout for treatment on his right foot to book a semi-final clash with world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen on June 1.
Li, 24, said: “It’s not easy playing against a home favourite and patience was key. I’m not as fast as my opponent and when I trailed, my coach told me to focus on my shuttle placement and play at my own pace.”
Meanwhile, Olympic champion Axelsen’s hopes of a first Singapore Open title remain alive after he beat unheralded Malaysian Leong Jun Hao 21-12, 21-11.
The 30-year-old Dane, who required a decider in the earlier rounds after winning his first individual title of 2024 at the Malaysia Masters last week, said: “It was nice to win in straight games for once as it’s been a tough past few days for me. It’s not easy to play back-to-back tournaments and perform well, so this is already a big achievement for me.”
Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen defeated Malaysian Leong Jun Hao 21-12, 21-11 at the KFF Singapore Badminton Open on May 31.
Taiwanese world No. 13 Chou Tien-chen also fired on all cylinders to beat Japan’s 11th-ranked Kenta Nishimoto 21-17, 21-13 to reach the semi-finals of a Super 750 event for the first time since he overcame early-stage colorectal cancer in April 2023.
The 34-year-old fan favourite and 2018 champion will next take on China’s world No. 2 Shi Yuqi, who outlasted Japan’s 2022 finalist Kodai Naraoka 17-21, 21-12, 23-21.
There was also a marathon match in the women’s singles as Indonesia’s world No. 9 Gregoria Tunjung saved three match points to beat China’s Asian champion Wang Zhiyi 21-13, 13-21, 24-22.
Tunjung will be looking to claim a first win in her seventh encounter in her semi-final against South Korea’s world No. 1 and defending champion An Se-young, who brushed aside another former world champion in Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21-12, 21-12.
Elsewhere, Thailand’s world No. 20 Pornpawee Chochuwong capitalised on Spanish world No. 3 Carolina Marin’s sprained neck to win 21-19, 21-16 for only her second victory in 10 attempts against the 2016 Olympic champion.
She will again be the heavy underdog in her next match against China’s reigning Olympic champion Chen Yufei. Earlier, the world No. 2 had eased past an off-form Japanese world No. 5 Akane Yamaguchi 21-8, 21-12.
After thumping the court in ecstasy, the Thai said: “The last time I beat Marin was in 2020 in her hometown. Maybe she was pressured to keep winning against me today, but I was confident and played really well today.
“I celebrated because I was really happy and wanted to enjoy the moment, but I have to calm down to run and fight tomorrow.”
