Badminton: Singapore's Loh Kean Yew falls short at German Open, loses to Denmark's Axelsen in final
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SINGAPORE: There would be no clean sweep of singles titles for Singapore at the German Open after Singapore's Loh Kean Yew fell to two-time Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in 54 minutes on Sunday (Mar 2).
After a pulsating first game which the tournament top seed Axelsen took 21-19, the Dane appeared to be in cruise control in the second.
However, a stirring comeback from tournament second seed Loh saw him save eight championship points at the death, before the Dane took the second 21-18.
Going into the clash, the Singaporean world number 15 had a 2-10 head-to-head record against Axelsen. He last beat the world number four at the Denmark Open in 2022.
On Saturday, Loh saw off Japan’s world number 44 Koo Takahashi 21-13, 21-14 in 46 minutes to progress to his first tournament final since winning the Super 300 Spain Masters last year.
Earlier in the day, Loh's compatriot Yeo Jia Min clinched her first Badminton World Federation (BWF) title since 2019 after beating Vietnam's Nguyen Thuy Linh on Sunday (Mar 2).
At the Westenergie Sporthalle in Mulheim, Germany, Singapore's top women's singles player saw off her opponent 21-16, 21-17 in 41 minutes.
26-year-old Yeo's last BWF title came at the Super 100 Hyderabad Open in August 2019, and her most recent title was the Polish Open last year, an International Challenge event one grade below the BWF World Tour structure.
Yeo and Loh's finals appearances were a "cause for celebration", said Singapore Badminton Association president Lawrence Leow.
"It couldn’t come at a better time as we celebrate SG60 as this is possible only because of the dedication and efforts of all of Team Singapore - parents, coaches, players and administrators - over the decades," he said.
"Jia Min’s victory today only made it sweeter.”
