Loh Kean Yew loses in India Open final; Singapore duo wins mixed doubles crown
Singapore badminton player Loh Kean Yew. (File photo: SNOC/Lim Weixiang)
SINGAPORE: World champion Loh Kean Yew lost to India’s Lakshya Sen in the men's singles final at the India Open on Sunday (Jan 16).
Singapore's Loh, the tournament's 5th seed fell in straight sets to the 3rd-seeded Sen at the K D Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi.
Loh and Sen played out a tightly contested first set, with the latter winning 24-22. Sen then took the second set 21-17, wrapping up the match in 54 minutes.
MIXED DOUBLES
In the mixed doubles final earlier on Sunday, Singapore pair Terry Hee Yong Kai and Tan Wei Han defeated Malaysia's Chen Tang Jie and Peck Yen Wei.
The 40-minute match saw Hee and Tan winning 21-15, 21-18.
Missing a number of star names, the India Open was hit by COVID-19, with several players withdrawing in recent days after testing positive.
Loh had advanced to the finals of the India Open after his opponent, Canada’s Brian Yang, withdrew from their semi-final match on Saturday after reportedly falling ill.
Hee and Tan had also advanced to the finals after their opponents - Russians Rodion Alimov and Alina Davletova – withdrew from their semi-final match, with one of them testing positive for COVID-19.
