SINGAPORE: Loh Kean Yew was eliminated from the Singapore Open on Friday (May 31) after he fell to world No 6 Li Shi Feng in the men’s singles quarterfinals.
At the Singapore Indoor Stadium, the Asian Games champion took the win 21-19, 21-16 in 56 minutes against world No 12 Loh.
Buoyed by home support, the unseeded Singaporean raced to a 11-5 lead at the interval. Despite being dragged into a number of rallies by his Chinese opponent early on, Loh kept his composure to stay on the front foot.
But there was a revival for sixth seed Li after the break as he levelled things up thrice, before taking the lead for the first time at 19-18 and closing out the game.
Loh came into the match with a 4-1 head to head record against Li. However, it was Li who emerged on top during their last encounter at the Indonesia Open last June.
It was deja vu again for the Singaporean in the second game as he led 10-6, only for Li to pounce on a number of short lifts and mistakes to head into the interval 11-10 up.
Momentum shifted the way of Li as he rattled off six straight points to take a 18-14 lead and secure his place in the semi-finals on Saturday, where he will take on Denmark’s world No 1 Viktor Axelsen. Taiwan’s Chou Tien Chen faces China’s Shi Yu Qi in the other semi-final match.
Loh’s loss also means that he falls short of matching his best-ever finish at the tournament. In 2022, he progressed to the semi-finals after a win over Li, before falling to eventual champion Anthony Ginting.
The 26-year-old had been the only Singaporean left standing in the competition after top women’s singles player Yeo Jia Min and the mixed doubles pair of Terry Hee and Jessica Tan were eliminated in the opening round.
Loh overcame China’s Lu Guangzu 25-27, 21-15, 21-5 in the opening round on Tuesday, before beating world No 4 Anders Antonsen 21-15, 11-21, 22-20 two days later.