‘Japan Open next! Ganbatte!’ — Loh Kean Yew looks forward after bagging silver at Korea Open

SINGAPORE: After making it to the finals, former Badminton World champion Loh Kean Yew was bested by Denmark’s Anders Antonsen at the finals of the Korea Open on Sunday (July 23), 21-11, 11-21, 19-21. Antonsen is currently ranked 16th in the world, while Loh is ranked 8th.

Nevertheless, at the tournament at Yeosu, Korea, Loh, 26, played extremely well and appeared not to be overly disappointed, remaining optimistic and upbeat in a Monday morning (July 24) Instagram post.

Loh Kean Yew 🇸🇬 confronts Anders Antonsen 🇩🇰 for the title.#BWFWorldTour #KoreaOpen2023 pic.twitter.com/jUo5JZhRiu

— BWF (@bwfmedia) July 23, 2023

“A runner-up position at my Korea Open debut – some things worked well and will continue to tweak on improving 💪🏻 Very surprised with the home crowd’s cheers, thank you to all for making my first time in Korea a great one. Kamsahamnida! 🙏🏻 #roadtoparis2024 #lining #teamsingapore #lohkeanyew #singaporebadminton #liningbadminton” he wrote.

The Japan Open, the eighteenth tournament of the 2023 BWF World Tour, will be held at Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan, from July 25 to 30, 2023. The total take-home winnings amount to and has a total purse of $850,000 (SGD1,131,000).

World number 1, Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen, is set to take part in the Japan Open, as are Indonesia’s Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and Jonatan Christie (ranked second and ninth in the world, respectively), Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn (ranked third),

Japan’s Kodai Naraoka (ranked fourth), China’s Shi Yuqi (ranked sixth), and India’s HS Prannoy (ranked tenth).

On Saturday, Loh beat the odds by defeating the top-seeded Kodai 18-21, 21-16, 21-15 in an 80-minute match that left viewers on the edge of their seats.

Previous to that, he had had a three-day winning streak, besting Malaysia’s Leong Jun Hao, 21-10, 21-14 at the round of 32 on July 19, and then China’s Zhao Junpeng, 21-19, 17-21, 21-6, to advance to the quarterfinals, on July 20.

On Friday, July 21, he won against Malaysia’s Ng Tze Yong 22-20, 21-19 in a 25-minute match. /TISG

3-day winning streak: Loh Kean Yew advances to semifinals at BWF Korea Open 2023