SINGAPORE - Badminton world champion Loh Kean Yew received a hero's welcome upon his homecoming as he enjoyed a water salute when his KL 833 flight arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 1 at around 4pm on Tuesday (Dec 21).
“I’m just glad to be back,” a chirpy Loh said as he acknowledged a group of 50 people who had gathered and applauded his return.
He told The Straits Times: “It’s good to see everyone here, hearing Singlish all around me, shiok!
“This is the first time I’ve experienced the water salute and I’m very honoured they did this for me. I hope to achieve more sporting glory for Singapore.”
The 24-year-old Singaporean delivered a surprise gold at the Badminton World Federation World Championships on Sunday when he beat India's Kidambi Srikanth 21-15, 22-20 in the men's singles final in Huelva, Spain, despite nursing an ankle injury.
Returning with national singles coach Kelvin Ho and physiotherapist Ho Jia Ying, he also celebrated his climb to a career-high world No. 15 in the latest rankings released on Tuesday.
National swimmer Joseph Schooling had received a similar reception when he returned from the Rio 2016 Olympics with the nation's first Olympic gold medal after winning the men's 100m butterfly final.
Due to Covid-19 safe management measures, there was no public reception for the shuttler. But a group of eagle-eyed onlookers and fans at Changi Airport managed to catch a glimpse of Singapore's world champion on Tuesday.
Denise, 26, who wanted to be known only by her first name, was running errands when she saw the media gathering and "sensed that someone important was arriving".
She said: "I suspected it could be Kean Yew and then realised it was definitely him because he posted on Instagram that he had landed. So I waited to see if I could catch a glimpse of him.
"He's done us all proud. Seeing the way he celebrated his win was especially moving. He's set an example for children to follow. I'm sure people of all ages who know of his achievement will feel very inspired."
After clearing a polymerase chain reaction swab test, Loh was welcomed home by Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, as well as Singapore Badminton Association officials – president Lawrence Leow, chief executive officer Alan Ow, technical director Martin Andrew and other management committee members.
He then attended a press conference at the Changi Experience Studio in Jewel, where he shared all the things he missed about Singapore – his pillow and bed, hotpot and Japanese food.
He will get his injured right ankle checked on Wednesday, but was feeling fine enough to do a boomerang hop for Instagram, and will take a break from badminton for the rest of year. He heads to Dubai next month to train with Denmark’s world No. 1 and Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen.
With the exception of a four-day spell at home from Dec 4 to 7, Loh has been on the road since August to train and compete.
He had a one-month training stint with Viktor Axelsen and four other top-60 players in Dubai across August and September, before he flew to Paris to train with the France national team.
In the two months that followed, he captured the Dutch Open and Hylo Open in Germany and finished second in the Indonesia Open, before claiming his historic world title.
In the process, he scalped six of the current top 10 players – Axelsen, Japan’s Kento Momota (second), Denmark’s Anders Antonsen (third), Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien-chen (fourth), Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia (seventh), and Kidambi (10th).
But still, there are some people who have questioned the Penang native’s allegiance on social media.
Loh, who has seen his Instagram followers grow from 110,000 last month to 170,000, said: “I just laugh at it because on the Internet, everyone can say what they want. I’m just me, I’m just playing badminton.. this will never end, but I just do what I can and hope to make Singapore proud.”
There are others who have questioned why there are no monetary rewards given for Loh’s massive achievement. The World Championships and the Olympics do not offer cash prizes, although the Singapore National Olympic Council administers the Major Games Award Programme (MAP) which disburses monetary rewards for major Games like the Olympics.
Loh, who has earned over $80,000 in prize money in the past two months, said: “This is not within my control. I didn’t expect to win (the world title so soon), so money didn’t cross my mind.
“For me, it’s about playing the best I can, and hoping to perform. This time I won, so I’m just glad to put the Singapore flag into the history books and we got to hear Majulah Singapura at the World Championships.”
