Loh Kean Yew: Singapore’s Badminton Star

dd yy October 11, 2024 0

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

Born in Penang, Loh attended Han Jiang Primary School in Penang as a child. At the age of 9, he and his brother were sent to Yang Wei Badminton Training Academy to learn badminton under Coach Loh Moo Hian; at 10, he switched to learn from former Malaysian national badminton player Lim Tian Zhao. He has won the Malaysian National Championship for players under 12.

In 2010, when Loh was 13, he went to the Singapore Sports School to join the Singapore National Junior Team training under the then head coach Liu Qingdong.

Loh received Singaporean citizenship in February 2015.

In 2019, he defeated Lin Dan 2-0 to win the men’s singles championship at the Thailand Masters.

In July 2021, he served as the flag bearer for the Singapore delegation at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He advanced past the first round of the group stage but was eliminated in the second round with a 1-2 loss to Indonesian star Jonatan Christie.

On December 19, 2021, Loh won the men’s singles championship at the 2021 Badminton World Championships, becoming the first badminton world champion in Singapore’s history.

In January 2022, he reached the final of the Super 500 India Open and helped the Singapore team win a bronze medal at the Asian Badminton Team Championships.

In October 2022, at the Denmark Open, Loh defeated home player Viktor Axelsen in straight sets in the quarterfinals, ending the world number one’s 40-match winning streak. However, he lost to Lee Zii Jia in the semifinals and missed the final.

On March 31, 2024, at the Badminton World Federation Tour Spain Masters, Loh won his first men’s singles championship since the 2021 World Championships, narrowly defeating French player Toma Junior Popov in three sets with a score of 21-11, 15-21, 22-20. Source: badmintoncn.com

2024 Spain Masters Men’s Singles Champion
2024 Thailand Masters Men’s Singles Runner-up
2023 French Open Men’s Singles Semifinalist
2023 Korea Open Men’s Singles Runner-up
2023 Asian Championships Men’s Singles Runner-up
2022 Denmark Open Men’s Singles Semifinalist
2022 Commonwealth Games Badminton Mixed Team Bronze Medalist
2022 Singapore Open Men’s Singles Semifinalist
2022 Indonesia Masters Men’s Singles Semifinalist
2022 Southeast Asian Games Men’s Team Bronze Medalist
2022 Southeast Asian Games Men’s Singles Runner-up
2022 Asian Team Championships Men’s Team Third Place
2022 India Open Men’s Singles Runner-up
2021 World Badminton Championships Men’s Singles Champion
2021 Indonesia Open Men’s Singles Runner-up
2021 German Huel羽毛球 Open Men’s Singles Champion
2021 Dutch Open Men’s Singles Champion
2019 Southeast Asian Games Men’s Singles Silver Medalist
2019 Southeast Asian Games Men’s Team Bronze Medalist
2019 Swedish Open Men’s Singles Runner-up
2019 Hyderabad Open Men’s Singles Runner-up
2019 Russian Open Men’s Singles Runner-up
2019 Thailand Masters Men’s Singles Champion
2018 South Australia International Challenge Men’s Singles Runner-up
2018 Mongolia International Men’s Singles Champion
2017 Singapore International Series Men’s Singles Champion
2017 Southeast Asian Games Men’s Team Bronze Medalist
2017 Malaysia International Series Men’s Singles Champion
2015 Southeast Asian Games Men’s Singles Bronze Medalist
2015 Southeast Asian Games Men’s Team Bronze Medalist
2014 Singapore International Series Men’s Singles Champion