Local favourite Loh Kean Yew had the 5,540 fans in the Singapore Indoor Stadium on the edge of their seats during his match against world No. 4 Anders Antonsen on Day 3 of the Karim Family Foundation (KFF) Singapore Badminton Open presented by JK Technology. After a pulsating 70-minute battle, Loh emerged victorious, winning 21-15, 11-21, 22-20.
Loh started off slowly in the first game, with Antonsen racing to a 3-0 lead. Loh fought back, and with the scores locked at 8-all, he upped his game to establish a lead and clinch the first game 21-15. The second game proved trickier for Loh, with the Dane winning several consecutive points at various stretches to take it 21-11.
The final game was a nail-biter that kept the home fans enthralled. Despite holding a 5-shot lead at one point (16-11), Loh allowed his opponent back into the game to tie the game 19-all. However, buoyed by the fervent home support, Loh clinched victory when Antonsen hit his shot out of court.
Reflecting on his crucial win, Loh said, “It was a tough match. I am glad that I managed to win in the end because it was so crazy. It could go either way at 20-20. It was very crucial.”
On the phenomenal home support, he added: “I feel very happy. I guess this is what they call the home-ground advantage. I’m very glad the crowd is on my side.”
Loh will now face China’s Li Shi Feng in the quarterfinals after Li prevailed in his match against Lee Cheuk Yiu 22-20, 21-19. While Loh leads their head-to-head battle (4-1), Li won their most recent encounter in straight games at last year’s Indonesia Open.
The Singaporean remarked: “Another tough match. And he has grown a lot over the past few years. It’s going to be a tough match, and I’m just going to rest and prepare myself for tomorrow.
In a stunning turn of events, two-time Singapore Badminton Open men’s singles champion Anthony Sinisuka Giniting was ousted from the tournament at the hands of Malaysia’s Leong Jun Hao. This marks Ginting’s first loss at the Singapore Badminton Open since Kento Momota defeated him in 2019.
Leong played exceptionally well for the majority of the match, while Ginting never quite found his rhythm, committing numerous unforced errors throughout the hour-long encounter. Leong scored a decisive victory with a score of 21-14, 10-21, 21-8.
Reflecting on his triumph, Leong said: “Yes, it’s definitely a breakthrough for me because I have played him twice before, and there are other higher-ranked teammates who have never won. This time, it is definitely a breakthrough.”
Leong will now face world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen for the first time after the Danish star powered through to the quarterfinals, overcoming Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun-Yi in a thrilling three-game match.
Despite suffering an injury scare towards the end, which required treatment on his right ankle, Axelsen managed to see the match through, clinching victory with a 21-16, 14-21, 21-16 score.
Axelsen, aiming for back-to-back tournament wins following his Malaysia Masters triumph last week, expressed his determination: “I want to see if I can stay at the top. I want to see if I can go far in every single tournament I play. Obviously, Singapore’s a tournament where I haven’t been, you know, playing at the weekend like Saturday, Sunday. So I will try my best to do that this year.”
Earlier in the day, another world No. 1, South Korea’s An Se Young, battled through a challenging match against Chinese Taipei’s Wen Chi Hsu, eventually prevailing 21-23, 21-11, 21-19.
An will face Nozomi Okuhara tomorrow after the Japanese knocked out China’s He Bing Jiao 18-21, 23-21, 21-16. An and Okuhara met during the Badminton Asia Championships in April, with the South Korean winning in three games 21-15, 18-21, 21-17.
The top pair in the mixed doubles – China’s Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong – are also through to the quarterfinals after their Malaysian opponents Goh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie retired in the third game of their match due to injury.
World No. 1 women’s doubles pair Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan will go up against Japan’s Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara, with the Chinese pair enjoying a superior head-to-head record of 8-2.
Another defending champion exited the tournament when Malaysia’s Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei defeated Danish pair Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Bøje in straight games, 21-17, 21-18. Chen and Toh will have another huge battle on their hands as they face world champions Seo Seung Jae and Chae Yu Jung tomorrow.
Highlight matches for tomorrow include:
· Loh Kean Yew (SGP) vs Li Shi Feng (CHN)
· Viktor Axelsen (DEN) vs Leong Jun Hao (MAS)
· An Se Young (KOR) vs Nozomi Okuhara (JPN)
· Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei (MAS) vs Seo Seung Jae and Chae Yu Jung (KOR)
· Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang (CHN) vs Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto (INA)
Organised by the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA), the KFF Singapore Badminton Open is part of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 750 series. The tournament features the top 15 singles players and top 10 doubles pairs, all vying for prestigious titles and a share of the US$850,000 prize money.
Photo credit: Singapore Badminton Association
The KFF Singapore Badminton Open 2024 runs from 28th May to 2nd June 2024 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Tickets available here
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