LOH Kean Yew

Jayce September 7, 2024 2 0

Character Introduction

Loh Kean Yew (born June 26, 1997) is a Singaporean male badminton player. His elder brother, Loh Kean Hean, is also a badminton player. Loh Kean Yew became a world champion at the 2021 BWF World Championships, marking Singapore’s first-ever world champion title in the Badminton World Federation.

Born in Penang, Loh Kean Yew attended Han Chiang Primary School. At the age of 9, his parents sent him and his brother to Yang Wei Badminton Academy to train under coach Loh Mooi Heng. When he was 10, he began training under former Malaysian national player Lim Theam Teow. Loh Kean Yew won the Malaysian U-12 national championship.

In 2010, at the age of 13, Loh moved to Singapore to study at the Singapore Sports School and joined the national youth team under head coach Liu Qingdong.

In February 2015, Loh Kean Yew obtained Singaporean citizenship.

In 2019, he won the Thailand Masters men’s singles title by defeating Lin Dan 2-0.

In July 2021, Loh was Singapore’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. After receiving a bye in the first round of the group stage, he was eliminated in the second round by Indonesian player Jonatan Christie with a score of 1-2.

On December 19, 2021, Loh Kean Yew won the 2021 BWF World Championships men’s singles title, becoming Singapore’s first badminton world champion.

In January 2022, he reached the final of the Super 500 India Open and helped Singapore secure a bronze medal at the Asia Team Championships.

In October 2022, at the Denmark Open, Loh ended world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen’s 40-match winning streak by defeating him in straight sets in the quarterfinals, but he lost to Lee Zii Jia in the semifinals and missed out on the final.

On March 31, 2024, Loh Kean Yew won his first men’s singles title since his world championship victory by claiming the title at the Spain Masters. He narrowly defeated French player Toma Junior Popov 21-11, 15-21, 22-20 in a thrilling three-game final.

World Ranking – Men’s Singles 11, Week 36, 2024

Olympic Points – Men’s Singles 12, 64752 points

Finals Ranking – Men’s Singles 10, 53260 points