Only Loh Kean Yew through to Indonesia Masters s-finals as other Singaporeans falter

SINGAPORE – Loh Kean Yew is the last Singaporean standing at the US$500,000 (S$640,000) Indonesia Masters after the world No. 10 eased to a 21-13, 21-18 win over sixth-ranked Taiwanese Chou Tien-chen in the men’s singles quarter-finals on Jan 23.

The 28-year-old will have a good chance of entering his first final of the year, as he next faces 44th-ranked Thai Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul, whom he leads 2-0 in their head-to-head record.

Loh was a relieved man after the 38-minute victory at Jakarta’s Istora Senayan, where Chou had won the 2019 Indonesia Open and entered the finals of the 2018 Asian Games, 2022 Indonesia Masters and 2025 Indonesia Open.

He told The Straits Times: “Everyone knows it’s especially hard to beat Chou Tien-chen here.

“But I’m glad I was able to win and play in the semi-finals once again (after reaching the last four in 2022, when he lost to Chou).

“I tried my best to stay focused as much as possible throughout the match. I will do the same for tomorrow’s semi-final – stay focused on each point and the game.”

The passionate Istora Senayan crowd were in fine spirits during the players’ warmup, greeting every stroke with a resounding “ee-yah!”, but the Singaporean was the quicker off the blocks, winning the first five points before taking the first game 21-13 in just 13 minutes.

Despite nursing a sore back from the previous week’s India Open, Loh was in inspired form to dictate proceedings, especially at the net, in the second game.

Although Chou, the 36-year-old who overcame early-stage colorectal cancer in April 2023, worked hard to turn a 7-11 deficit into a 17-15 lead, it was to no avail.

Loh claimed six out of the last seven points before roaring emphatically to level their head-to-head score at 5-5.

The other men’s singles semi-final will see local favourite and world No. 18 Alwi Farhan take on 27th-ranked Taiwanese Chi Yu-jen, who beat Jason Teh 21-18, 13-21, 21-13 in an eventful match.

The world No. 22 Singaporean had won five points in a row to level the opening game at 18-18 when he was shown a yellow card by the umpire for taking more than the allowed 25 seconds to serve, despite both players agreeing to change the shuttlecock. Teh lost the next three points and the game.

While Teh won the second game easily, the umpire intervened again in the decider when Teh was trailing 7-11 at the mid-game interval.

Both players were shown the red card and awarded a point each for failing to get ready after the 60-second break and Teh never recovered from the distraction.

The 25-year-old Teh told ST: “I don’t know what happened with the yellow card, but I’m not calm enough in the third game.

“There will always be some positives to take away, but another loss in a Super 500 quarter-final means I have much more to learn and catch up in order to progress further.”

A disappointed Teh will now turn his attention to the Jan 27-Feb 1 Thailand Masters, where he won his first international title in 2025 to end a seven-final losing streak.

Meanwhile, the fairy-tale run of new mixed doubles pair comprising Singaporean Terry Hee and Indonesian Gloria Widjaja also ended in the last eight, although they pushed Malaysia’s world champions and world No. 4 Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei hard before losing 21-16, 21-19.

Hee and Widjaja showed glimpses in the clash just why they could be a force to be reckoned with in only their third competitive match together.

With good communication, they did well to stay in rallies and forced their opponents into numerous unforced errors although Chen and Toh proved too strong in the end.

But after beating two top-20 pairs in the first two rounds, 30-year-old Hee said: “Overall, it’s a positive start for us to reach the quarter-finals in our first tournament together.

“At next week’s Thailand Masters, I will need to be calmer on court to think clearer and play more strategically. Physically, I have to work on being stronger and faster too.”

Widjaja, 32, added: “We are not fully satisfied with our performance today, but we gave our best on court.

“We need to improve our self-control, especially in managing emotions and desire on court. This is something we must keep reminding each other in future competitions.”