Whenever Loh Kean Yew competes, Singaporeans sit up and pay attention, even if it’s at the semi-finals.
That was especially true during the ongoing Singapore Open, as he was playing on home ground.
While there were hopes that he’d win the whole competition, Loh has unfortunately exited at the semi-finals.
Source: Loh Kean Yew on Facebook via Badminton Photo
Undeterred, he said he will try harder next year.
Loh, who’s currently world No. 9, faced off against Indonesian Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in the men’s singles semi-final on Saturday (16 Jul).
The venue was the Singapore Indoor Stadium, where a crowd of about 6,000 geared up to watch the battle, reported The Straits Times (ST).
Loh delighted home fans by taking the lead in the first game, going into the interval 11-7 up.
Source: Badmincomps – 3 on YouTube
However, Ginting, ranked world No. 6, turned it around to beat him 21-17.
In the second game, Loh again led 9-8 only for Ginting to stage another comeback and lead 11-10 at the break.
The Indonesian went on to record a win in two straight sets of 21-17 and 21-14.
Source: Badmincomps – 3 on YouTube
This was Ginting’s first career win over Loh, having failed to beat him two previous times.
The night before on Friday (15 Jul), Loh, the world champion, beat China’s Li Shifeng to make the semi-finals.
Source: Badminton Asia on Facebook via Badminton Photo
This prompted Singaporeans to hope that our hometown boy would become the first Singaporean to reach the Singapore Open men’s singles final in 20 years.
The last time this happened, Singaporean Ronald Susilo lost to Chen Hong in 2002.
Some might even have dreamt that Loh would go all the way and win the competition.
The last Singaporean to win the event at the Singapore Open was Wee Choon Seng — 60 years ago in 1962.
After the loss, Loh posted on Facebook that playing in front of the home crowd made the tournament “very special and memorable”.
Source: Loh Kean Yew on Facebook
He thanked them for coming down to support him and his teammates.
Source: Loh Kean Yew on Facebook via Badminton Photo
As for the game itself, he admitted that he was “not spared” by Ginting though he wanted to make it to the final.
He told ST that he wasn’t brave enough — being unable to try out different shots and change the tactics and game plan.
However, Loh also graciously congratulated his opponent and urged fans to support the final tomorrow.
Most importantly, he gave an assurance to Singapore fans hungry for more silverware from him:
I’ll try harder next year.
Knowing Loh’s competitive nature, he’ll probably be disappointed by not going all the way on home ground.
But Singaporeans will agree that representing our nation isn’t something just anybody can do, so he’s made us proud by making it this far anyway.
His next outing will be in the Commonwealth Games this month. May the defeat push him to train harder so he can do better next time.
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Featured image adapted from Loh Kean Yew on Facebook via Badminton Photo.
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