“I knew that I needed to fight crazy hard, I needed determination and I think I lost a little bit of myself in the second set,” said Lanier post-match.
“At that moment I just thought I cannot let him come back so easily. And I went 100 per cent, and even more, with determination, resilience. I went point after point, and I think that was definitely the key.”
Loh had to dig deep to book his final spot this year.
He eked out wins over India’s Srikanth Kidambi and then H S Prannoy in the round-of-16, before beating Chi Yu-jen. All three matches went to a decider.
He then qualified for Sunday’s final by outlasting Japan’s Koki Watanabe 21-15, 15-21, 21-9 on Saturday.
“Every year a lot of the Singapore crowd come to watch Singapore players play. Sometimes I feel very sayang (regretful) that I lose before (they can come and watch),” said Loh.
“This year I came through all the way, till the last day. I’m glad that I did that, even though I lost.”