Loh Kean Yew Falls To Childhood Friend In Denmark Open, 3rd Loss To Him In 2022

Loh Kean Yew Falls To Lee Zii Jia In Denmark Open Semi-Finals After Training Together Before Tournament

After national shuttler Loh Kean Yew beat Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in the Denmark Open, many may have thought he would go all the way in the competition.

However, this wasn’t to be, as Loh fell in the semi-finals to a familiar face — his childhood friend Lee Zii Jia.

This was Loh’s third loss to Lee in 2022.

Loh Kean Yew beaten in 2 straight sets at Denmark Open

In the semi-final on Sunday (23 Oct) morning Singapore time at the Jyske Bank Arena in Odense, Loh was outplayed in two straight sets.

He crashed out in 40 minutes, losing both sets 21-18 and 21-15.

With this, the 25-year-old doesn’t win the title but gets the consolation of S$14,860 (US$10,500).

Loh initially led in first set

In the first set, things looked good for Loh when he ran up a 7-2 lead.

However, the Malaysian made an impressive comeback to level the scores at 12-12.

After Loh’s racket was adjusted to have crossed the net, Lee made it 14-12 and never looked back, winning the set.

A see-saw second set

The second set was more of a see-saw match, with Loh again leading at the outset with a respectable 3-0.

But Lee again made a comeback, at one point racing to a 13-8 lead.

Loh then excitingly rallied to make it 14-14.

However, a series of errors meant that he couldn’t sustain this momentum and fell behind to lose.

Loh & Lee are childhood friends

Lee, 24, is of course Loh’s childhood friend — the Singaporean was born and raised in Penang, while Lee hailed from Kedah.

They often met in Malaysian competitions before Loh came to Singapore when he was 13.

And competition between them is stiff — while Loh beat Lee twice in 2021, Lee has now returned the favour and more in 2022.

The Malaysian has beaten Loh a total of three times this year, starting with a win at the Asia Team Championships in February.

Lee then triumphed over Loh in the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Open in June.

Loh Kean Yew trained in Denmark before Open, so did Lee

It seems the rivalry isn’t restricted to their court meetings but extends to training too.

Though the Denmark Open started on 18 Oct, Loh arrived in Denmark more than a week before and did some training, according to his Facebook post on 9 Oct.

Lee also arrived in Denmark early, around a week before, and took part in some high-intensity training — together with Loh, reported Stadium Astro.

We guess friends that sweat together, stay together?

Another chance to avenge his losses

With this latest win, it seems that Loh, ranked World No. 5, has been bested by his childhood friend again.

He won’t have much time to lick his wounds though — his next game is in just days, with the French Open starting on Tuesday (25 Oct).

We wish our homeboy all the best, and may he swiftly avenge his losses in the same way he trashed World No. 1 Axelsen.

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Featured image adapted from  Badminton Asia on Facebook via Badminton Photo and BWF TV on YouTube.