Loh Kean Yew

Loh Kean Yew (Chinese: 骆建佑; born 26 June 1997) is a Singaporean badminton player.[2] Loh is currently a one-time Olympian, taking part at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, where he was also the flag bearer for Singapore during the Parade of Nations.[3]

In this Chinese name, the family name is Loh.
Loh Kean Yew
Personal information
CountrySingapore
Born (1997-06-26) 26 June 1997
Penang, Malaysia
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Weight68 kg (150 lb)[1]
HandednessRight
Men's singles
Highest ranking20 (30 November 2021)
Current ranking22 (7 December 2021)
Medal record
Men's badminton
Representing  Singapore
Southeast Asian Games
2019 Philippines Men's singles
2015 Singapore Men's singles
2015 Singapore Men's team
2017 Kuala Lumpur Men's team
2019 Philippines Men's team
BWF profile

Career

Loh represented Singapore in the Southeast Asian Games, where he was the bronze medalist in the men's singles event in 2015, also in the men's team in 2015, 2017 and 2019.[4][5] He also won the Singapore International tournament in 2014 and 2017 and Malaysia International in 2017.[6][7] He competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.[8]

In 2018, Loh joined Langhøj badminton club, in Denmark, for 3 months.[9]

During the Thailand Masters in 2019, Loh won against China's Zhou Zeqi, Zhao Junpeng, Taiwan's Wang Tzu-wei before advancing to the semifinals. He took the semifinals against Brice Leverdez in an eventual 2–1 win. He played against China's Lin Dan and won the gold medal with a score of 21–19, 21–18 to.[10] Loh won the men's singles silver medal in 2019 Southeast Asian Games, losing in the final match against Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia.[11]

In 2021, Loh qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics after placing 18th in the Race to Tokyo men's singles rankings.[12] Loh was eliminated in the group stage; won a match against Aram Mahmoud in straight games, and lost to Jonatan Christie in rubber games.[13][14]

In October 2021, Loh won the Dutch Open international challenge, beating Indian number one seed and title defender Lakshya Sen in straight games in the final.[15]

Loh Kean Yew

At the beginning of November 2021, Loh has won the biggest title of his career yet after he beat Malaysia's world No. 8 Lee Zii Jia. It was his first BWF World Tour Super 500 win. He had upset higher ranked Taiwanese world No. 4 Chou Tien-chen, France's world No. 35 Toma Junior Popov, Denmark's world No. 13 Rasmus Gemke and India's 21st-ranked Lakshya Sen.[16]

Loh finished runners-up at the 2021 Indonesia Open, with a game of 21–13, 9–21, 21–13 in an hour against Denmark's world No. 2 and Olympic gold medalist Viktor Axelsen.[17]

Personal life

Born in Penang, Malaysia, Loh is the youngest son and has three elder brothers.[18] He played badminton at age seven in primary school but dropped the sport after being made fun of. He picked up badminton once again at ten and within six months, he was in the Penang state team.[19]

In 2010, a year after his third brother Loh Kean Hean came to Singapore, although reluctant to leave his hometown, he moved to Singapore at the age of 13 after he received the Foreign Sports Scholarship from the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA), and was educated at the Singapore Sports School.[18][20][21] His goal is to win an Olympic gold medal for Singapore.[22]

Loh's elder brother, Loh Kean Hean, is also a member of the Singapore national badminton team.[23]

Military service

Loh served his National Service (NS) for the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) from 2016 to 2018, earning the rank of corporal first class (CFC).[24] During his service, he also played badminton for the Singapore Armed Forces Sports Association (SAFSA). In 2018, he received the best sportsman award by SAFSA.[24]

Achievements

Southeast Asian Games

Men's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2015 Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif 20–22, 15–21 Bronze
2019 Muntinlupa Sports Complex, Metro Manila, Philippines Lee Zii Jia 18–21, 18–21 Silver

BWF World Tour (2 titles, 3 runners-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[25] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tours are divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.[26]

Men's singles

Year Tournament Level Opponent Score Result
2019 Thailand Masters Super 300 Lin Dan 21–19, 21–18 Winner
2019 Russian Open Super 100 Shesar Hiren Rhustavito 17–21, 19–21 Runner-up
2019 Hyderabad Open Super 100 Sourabh Verma 13–21, 21–14, 16–21 Runner-up
2021 Hylo Open Super 500 Lee Zii Jia 19–21, 21–13, 17–12 retired Winner
2021 Indonesia Open Super 1000 Viktor Axelsen 13–21, 21–9, 13–21 Runner-up

BWF International Challenge/Series (5 titles, 2 runners-up)

Men's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result
2014 Singapore International Kantaphon Wangcharoen 19–21, 21–14, 11–1 retired Winner
2017 Malaysia International Cheam June Wei 21–19, 21–14 Winner
2017 Singapore International Ryan Ng 21–15, 21–15 Winner
2018 Mongolia International Andre Marteen 15–21, 21–9, 24–22 Winner
2018 South Australia International Yu Igarashi 19–21, 24–22, 11–21 Runner-up
2019 Swedish Open Minoru Koga 11–21, 15–21 Runner-up
2021 Dutch Open Lakshya Sen 21–12, 21–16 Winner
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament

References
  1. "Athlete Profile: Loh Kean Yew". Kuala Lumpur 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  2. "Players: Loh Kean Yew". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  3. Mohan, Matthew. "Tokyo Olympics declared open; Team Singapore led in by Loh Kean Yew and Yu Mengyu". CNA. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  4. "Athletes: Loh Kean Yew". Singapore Sports Council. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  5. "Badminton: Singapore's men lose to Malaysia, retain bronze at SEA Games". CNA. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  6. "Badminton: Loh Kean Yew plays his own game for surprise title in Malaysia". The Straits Times. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  7. "Badminton: Not in peak form but NSF Loh wins once more". The Straits Times. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  8. "Participants: Kean Yew Loh". Gold Coast 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  9. Lim, Say Heng (19 October 2018). "Badminton: Singapore's Loh Kean Yew and Yeo Jia Min to play with European clubs". The Straits Times. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  10. "Badminton: Singapore's Loh Kean Yew stuns Chinese superstar Lin Dan in Thailand Masters final". CNA. 13 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  11. Mohan, Matthew (9 December 2019). "Badminton: Singapore's Loh Kean Yew settles for silver after losing SEA Games final". CNA. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  12. Lee, David (7 June 2021). "Badminton: Singapore's Loh Kean Yew, Yeo Jia Min's slots at Tokyo 2020 confirmed". The Straits Times. Retrieved 27 Jul 2021.
  13. "Loh Kean Yew". Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  14. Mohan, Matthew (28 July 2021). "Badminton: Singapore's Loh Kean Yew falls to Indonesia's Christie in thriller, eliminated from Olympics". CNA. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  15. Lee, David (17 October 2021). "Badminton: S'pore's Loh Kean Yew ends two-year title drought at Dutch Open". The Straits Times.
  16. Lee, David (7 November 2021). "Badminton: Singapore's Loh claims Hylo Open title after Malaysian opponent Lee retires". The Straits Times. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  17. Mohan, Matthew. "Singapore's Loh Kean Yew defeated by world No 2 Viktor Axelsen, finishes runner-up at Indonesia Open". CNA. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  18. "直击家人教练母亲校长老师"铁门羽球"外的骆建佑". Lianhe Wanbao. 21 January 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2019 – via China Press.
  19. Osman, Shamir (15 June 2015). "Local surprise package Kean Yew already assured of badminton bronze". The New Paper. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  20. "KL2017: Once Malaysian, now Singaporean: Loh has no regrets switching allegiances". New Straits Times. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  21. "She came to us first, insists sports school". AsiaOne. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  22. "S'pore shuttler Loh Kean Yew, 17, serves notice of intent". The Straits Times. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  23. "S'pore shuttler Loh Kean Yew, 17, serves notice of intent". The Straits Times. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  24. Mohan, Matthew. "Singapore's Loh Kean Yew wins men's singles title at Hylo Open, Yeo Jia Min finishes second". CNA. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  25. Alleyne, Gayle (19 March 2017). "BWF Launches New Events Structure". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  26. Sukumar, Dev (10 January 2018). "Action-Packed Season Ahead!". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
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