Loh Kean Yew misses out on gold at Asian Games badminton, 1st S’porean to get silver
He missed out on gold after losing to Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
Singaporean badminton player Loh Kean Yew secured a silver medal at the Asian Games badminton men’s singles event, marking the first time a Singaporean has won a medal in this category in 20 years. The 29-year-old narrowly missed out on gold on September 29 after losing to world number one Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the final at Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Loh lost the final match with a score of 2-0, surrendering the last game 21-16 after a hard-fought first round 21-12 defeat. This victory eclipses the last time Singapore claimed an Asiad medal in badminton, when the women's team secured a bronze at the 2006 Doha Games. Earlier in the tournament, Loh had defeated then-world number one Jonatan Christie during the quarter-finals, becoming the first Singaporean shuttler to guarantee a medal at the Asiad.
His triumph in the match with Kunlavut, his first win against the Indonesian and 2018 champion, came after 11 previous meetings. Loh's performance included victories over India’s Lakshya Sen in the second round and Malaysia’s Justin Hoh in the round of 16, both with scores of 21-14, 21-14. Meanwhile, Kunlavut Vitidsarn made history by becoming the first Thai to reach the Asian Games men’s singles final and the first to claim a gold medal.
Written by urgent.news from Mothership's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
