Singapore's Loh Kean Yew wins first match at badminton World Tour Finals
Loh Kean Yew is the first Singaporean man to qualify for the BWF World Tour Finals.
Singapore's Loh Kean Yew in his first match at the BWF World Tour Finals against Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien-chen, on Dec 7, 2022. (Photo: Facebook/Singapore Badminton Association)
SINGAPORE: Singapore's Loh Kean Yew won his first match of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals in Bangkok on Wednesday (Dec 7).
The world number 3 took 42 minutes to beat Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien-chen 21-15, 21-17 in the competition's Group B match.
Loh is the first Singaporean man to qualify for the prestigious tournament, which runs from Dec 7 to Dec 11.
The tournament, which has a total prize money of US$1.5 million, features the current top-eight players in the singles and doubles categories.
The other participants in Group B are Indonesia's Jonatan Christie and Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.
Ginting came back from a set down to beat his compatriot Christie 6-21, 21-10, 21-9 in the earlier group match. Loh will next face Christie on Thursday.
The Singaporean player has a chance to reach a career-high world number 2 depending on his results at the final tournament of the year.
Group A consists of world number 1 Viktor Axelsen, India’s H S Prannoy, Japan’s Kodai Naraoka and China’s Lu Guangzu.
The top two from each group proceed to the semi-finals.
