Singapore badminton player Loh Kean Yew moves into top 10 of world rankings, reaches new career high
Singapore badminton player Loh Kean Yew moves into top 10 of world rankings, reaches new career high
SINGAPORE: Badminton player Loh Kean Yew has broken into the top 10 of the world rankings for the first time in his career.
In the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) world rankings on Tuesday (Feb 22), the Singaporean jumped to a career-high ninth. He was ranked 12th in the last edition of the rankings the week before.
Loh’s rise up the rankings continues after a creditable showing at the Badminton Asia Team Championships for the 24-year-old and Singapore’s men’s team.
Loh won all but one of his singles matches as Singapore progressed to the semi-finals of the event before losing 3-2 to Indonesia to claim bronze. This was the first time Singapore has clinched a medal at the event.
His solitary loss came against world number 7 Lee Zii Jia as Singapore were beaten 5-0 by Malaysia in the group stage.
A METEORIC RISE
About a year ago, Loh was ranked 39th in the world, but a string of sensational performances at the tail-end of 2021 has propelled him up the rankings.
This included winning the Dutch Open crown in October, and claiming his first career BWF World Tour Super 500 title at the Hylo Open in November.
Loh’s crowning moment came in December as he became the first Singaporean to win a BWF World Championships title.
Loh defeated India’s Kidambi Srikanth 21-15, 22-20 in the men’s singles final to cap off a fairytale run that saw him beat the likes of Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen and Axelsen’s compatriot Anders Antonsen.
The Singaporean has competed in two tournaments in 2022, finishing runners-up to India’s Lakshya Sen at the India Open before competing in the Badminton Asia Team Championships.
He is slated to feature at the German Open next month, where he will face Canada’s Brian Yang in his opening match.
Dane Axelsen currently sits atop the BWF’s men’s rankings, with Japan’s Kento Momota in second, and Antonsen in third.
Loh’s compatriot Yeo Jia Min remains at a career-high 16th in the women’s rankings.
