Loh Kean Yew stops skid to remain sole local player in KFF Singapore Badminton Open
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Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew going up against China’s Lu Guangzu at the KFF Singapore Open on May 28. Loh won 2-1.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
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SINGAPORE – There was a weight on Loh Kean Yew’s shoulders as he marched onto the court in the Singapore Indoor Stadium on May 28.
Ahead of his opening game at the KFF Singapore Badminton Open, the Singaporean world No. 12 was staring at an unwanted run of three consecutive first-round exits, and he desperately wanted to avoid a fourth.
While the inconsistency that has plagued his recent performances continued to linger, Loh was able to avoid crashing out after beating China’s world No. 15 Lu Guangzu 25-27, 21-15, 21-5 in the topsy-turvey opener at the US$850,000 (S$1.2 million) tournament.
The 26-year-old will play Danish world No. 4 Anders Antonsen – whom he has beaten in three out of five encounters – in the round of 16 on May 30.
After clinching victory in front of 3,520 vociferous fans armed with clappers, Loh said: “It’s important for various reasons to go far in tournaments, and it’s especially more meaningful at home so I can play more in front of the home crowd.”
Playing on the quicker side of the court with the draught, Loh did well to keep up with an opponent he had beaten in their past two meetings, despite trailing in the first game.
In a marathon game that delighted fans with pinpoint smashes and dramatic saves, Lu prevailed to draw first blood.
Loh fought back to clinch the second game and turned on the heat in the decider, pummelling Lu into submission with his devastatingly fast attacks. Steamrolling to a 10-0 lead, Loh finally put another win on the board after losing in the first rounds of the Asia Championships, Thailand Open and Malaysia Masters.
Despite nursing a recurrent shoulder injury, he said: “Obviously I want to win and I’ll do whatever it takes to do the best I can.
“It was harder to play on the faster side, so I was hoping to win first and have the advantage in the second game on the other side. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. But badminton is a best-of-three sport, so I just tried to push through and I am very thankful for all the fans who were cheering for me and that motivates me even more.”
Loh is the sole Singaporean player left, after Yeo Jia Min lost her fifth successive match against He Bingjiao in another thrilling match which the Chinese world No. 8 won 21-12, 21-23, 21-16.
After a limp first game, the 25-year-old showed great fighting spirit and overcame a contentious umpire decision to disallow a challenge to take the second game. However, she eventually succumbed to He in the decider.
Yeo, who is recovering from an Achilles injury, said she struggled with the draught.
She added: “I made many unforced errors and I couldn’t take the lead in the third game even though I tried to fight for every point. Going back, I have to reflect on how I can be more consistent in my strokes and throughout the match.”
Yeo Jia Min lost her fifth successive match against China’s world No. 8 He Bingjiao.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
National singles coach Kelvin Ho said: “Both our players displayed remarkable determination in their matches, with the only setbacks being unforced errors. Focusing on reducing these errors will be crucial for enhancing their overall performance.”
In the mixed doubles, world No. 17 Terry Hee and Jessica Tan, who just this week earned their ticket to the Paris Olympics,
Hee told The Straits Times that they “couldn’t keep up with the speed and momentum”.
Tan said: “Throughout the match we couldn’t find our rhythm. Our opponents did very well to deal with the wind and capitalise on it and make it very difficult for us to create chances. It felt like nothing was really working for us.”
Singapore’s world No. 17 pair Jessica Tan and Terry Hee had a “disaster” game, losing to South Korean mixed doubles world champions Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung,.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
Earlier in the day, defending women’s singles champion An Se-young breezed past Myanmar’s Thet Htar Thuzar 21-14, 21-10.
The South Korean world No. 1, who has been dealing with a knee injury, said: “My body isn’t fit and my mentality also isn’t good. My focus is more on the Olympics, so this is just progress towards the Olympics... I am satisfied with the result today.”
In the men’s doubles, world No. 1 Indian duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were upset 22-20, 21-18 by Danish world No. 34 Daniel Lundgaard and Mads Vestergaard.
The first round continues on May 29 with some blockbuster action as 2018 champion Chou Tien-chen takes on All England champion Jonatan Christie, while Olympic bronze medallist Anthony Ginting and world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen will play Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia and India’s Lakshya Sen respectively.
