SINGAPORE: Singapore’s top men’s singles shuttler, Loh Kean Yew, suffered a shock first-round exit at the 2024 Toyota Thailand Open, while Yeo Jia Min was forced to retire during her quarter-final match on Friday due to an unfortunate injury.
Yeo began her 2024 Thailand Open campaign on a high note, dominating South Korea’s Kim Ga Ram with a convincing 21-13, 21-16 win in the women’s singles event on Wednesday, May 15.
She continued her winning streak in the next round, effortlessly dispatching Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Pin-Chian in straight sets, 21-14, 21-14, showcasing her impressive form and determination to advance in the tournament.
“Overall it was quite okay, and it was my first time playing her. We both don’t really know the style well but I just tried to be a bit faster and more consistent. Playing Wang Zhi, she is physically a strong player and can run well.
She has good strokes and I have to prepare, be patient and to be prepared to run a lot as well,” expressed Yeo after her win in the second round of the tournament against Chiu.
However, Yeo’s winning streak was cut short in the quarter-finals when she had to retire towards the end of the first set against second-seeded Wang Zhi Yi of China due to an ankle injury.
Before the match was abandoned, Wang, ranked eighth in the world, was leading 19-14 against Yeo.
Wang, a member of China’s 2024 Uber Cup team that won the gold medal, had held the upper hand in their previous encounters earlier this year, emerging victorious over Yeo in both the Indonesia Masters and badminton Asia Championships.
Meanwhile, world number 13 Loh was up against Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei in the opening round of the men’s singles event.
Prior to their encounter in Bangkok, the Singaporean had recorded four successive wins over Wang, who is ranked ten spots below him.
However, in a stunning upset, Wang, who is ranked ten spots below Loh, defied the odds and claimed a convincing win over the former world champion in straight sets, 21-15, 21-13.
With the results, Wang has claimed a second career win over the Singapore shuttler. His first triumph over Loh was at the 2015 Chinese Taipei Grand Prix.
Loh acknowledged his poor performance against Wang and remained focused on the upcoming competition, with his priority being the 2024 Paris Olympics in July.
It will be Loh’s second appearance in the Olympics after his debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“Many errors from myself, and I did not play well. We are all playing different tournaments at different times, so it’s just that today he played much better and I am playing much worse.
Of course try to do well in the tournaments in order to get (better) rankings, but the main goal is still the Olympics,” said Loh in a post-match interview after his first-round loss to Wang.
Four years ago, Loh’s Olympic dreams were cut short in the group stage of the men’s singles competition, where he faced a heart-wrenching exit.
Despite a convincing win over Aram Mahmoud in the first match of Group G, he suffered a nail-biting defeat to Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie in his second match.
In a thrilling three-set encounter, Loh succumbed to a 20-22, 21-13,18-21 loss against Christie, which ultimately proved decisive as only the group winner advanced to the knockout stage, leaving Loh agonisingly close to progressing further in the tournament.
The badminton calendar is heating up for both Loh and Yeo. Their next destination is Kuala Lumpur for the Perodua Malaysia Masters from May 21.
This is followed by the highly anticipated KFF Singapore Badminton Open, taking place from May 28 to June 2 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. They will be eager to thrill the local crowd and make a strong impression on their home ground.
