Highs and lows: Loh Kean Yew’s road to the Paris Olympics badminton quarter-finals

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew staged an upset by defeating China’s world No 6 Li Shifeng on Thursday (Aug 1), setting up a tantalising quarter-final clash with Denmark’s world No 2 Viktor Axelsen.
In the process, Loh also became the first Singaporean in two decades to reach the last eight at the Olympics.
CNA traces Loh’s career, from his beginnings as a Singapore Sports School student to now Olympics quarter-finalist.
Loh was 13 when he arrived in Singapore from Penang in 2010, after receiving a scholarship from the Singapore Sports School to study and train as a student-athlete.
He had followed in the footsteps of his elder brother Kean Hean, who had secured a scholarship at Montfort Secondary.
On the decision to send his younger son away, Mr Loh Pin Keat said: “It’s never easy. You miss your son growing up, you’re always worried if he is sick, so worried.”
While the separation was difficult for his parents, they took comfort in the network of friends and family members in Singapore, who looked out for the two brothers.
As Loh honed his craft in Singapore, he took up citizenship, and served his National Service from 2016 to 2018.
Then came his breakthrough. 
In 2019, Loh – then ranked 125th in the world – stunned the badminton world by beating Chinese superstar Lin Dan at the Thailand Open final. It would signal the start of bigger things to come.
On Dec 19, 2021, Loh sealed his place in the history books, by becoming the first Singaporean to win a BWF World Championships title.
World No 22 at the time, he defeated India’s Kidambi Srikanth 21-15, 22-20 in the final in Spain.
Along the way, he stunned heavyweights Axelsen and Anders Antonsen, ranked No 1 and No 3 in the world at the time.
Loh had gone into the tournament in sizzling form. 
Two months before that, he took the Dutch Open crown, before following that up with his first career BWF World Tour Super 500 title at the Hylo Open in November.
Following the high of winning the world title, Loh experienced an unexpected drought. 
In fact, it would take 27 months for the dry spell to end.
In 2022, he twice came close to winning again – at the India Open and the SEA Games – but lost both finals.
He also made it to two semi-finals – the Indonesia Masters and Singapore Open.
At the prestigious All-England Open, he was eliminated in the first round
He also failed to retain his World Championship crown, losing to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the last eight.
In the Commonwealth Games, he succumbed in the quarter-final stage, losing to Malaysia’s Ng Tze Yong.
The year 2023 did not turn out better for Loh. 
He again lost to Ng, this time in the Asian Games.
However, he managed to clinch a runner’s up medal at the Korea Open in July. 
Although the trophies dried up, Loh’s performances on the court saw him move up the world rankings. 
In November 2022, he broke into the top three in the world rankings for the first time in his career.
Previously, the highest-ranked men’s singles player in Singapore was Ronald Susilo, who was placed sixth in 2004.
Loh was a key member of the men’s team that clinched a historic bronze for Singapore at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in 2022.
He also finished with a bronze medal in the mixed team event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
That year, he became the first Singaporean to be nominated for the annual Badminton World Federation (BWF) Player of the Year awards. The men’s title eventually went to Axelsen.
In April 2023, he reached the Badminton Asia Championships final – his first final since the 2021 SEA Games – but lost to Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia. 
Loh’s title drought would eventually end in March this year, as he beat France’s Toma Junior Popov to claim the Spain Masters. 
At the previous Games in Tokyo, Loh played in front of an empty arena at the pandemic-delayed event.
Ranked 42nd in the world at the time, he was knocked out in the early stages following a loss to Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie.
Going into the Paris Olympics, his form appeared patchy.
Apart from his Spain Masters triumph, he also finished second in the Thailand Masters in early 2024. 
Despite nursing a long-term right shoulder injury, he secured his spot in the Olympics by finishing 12th in the “Race to Paris” rankings, where the top 16 singles players qualify. 
Loh began his tournament at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena on Jul 28, taking on Czech Republic’s Jan Louda – and beating him 21-13, 21-10.
He proceeded to beat El Salvador’s Uriel Canjura 21-13, 21-16 to book his place in the knockout rounds.
On Thursday, he defeated Li Shifeng 23-21, 21-15 to set up the quarter-final clash with Denmark’s Axelsen, whom Loh has beaten only twice in 10 meetings.
Loh ended up losing to Axelsen, the reigning men’s singles champion, 21-9, 21-17.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated following Loh’s quarter-finals match against Axelsen at the Paris Olympics.