Loh Kean Yew returns to winning ways at Denmark Open as he beats Thai rival
SINGAPORE — Former badminton world champion Loh Kean Yew returned to competition, and also returned to winning ways after beating Thailand's Sitthikom Thammasin in the opening round of the Denmark Open on Tuesday (18 October).
After taking a break following his Japan Open exit early last month, the 25-year-old world No.5 took 42 minutes to dispatch his world No.36 opponent 21-13, 22-20 at the Jyske Bank Arena in Odense.
While comfortable in the first game, Loh was put under pressure in the second by Sitthikom, who raced to a 17-12 lead. However, he chipped away at the Thai's lead, pulling level from 16-20 to 20-all, before sealing the victory by clinching the next two points.
In the next round, Loh will face either India's Kidambi Srikanth - whom he defeated to clinch the World Championships crown in Spain last December - or Hong Kong's world No.14 Angus Ng.
Should he advance further, he could be in for a daunting match-up against mentor and world No.1 Viktor Axelsen in the quarter-finals.
Climbing to top five in the world despite end of world title reign
Loh's World Championships reign had ended in August, when he lost to Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the quarter-finals of his men's singles title defence in Tokyo.
Despite the end of his title reign, the Singapore shuttler still climbed to world No.5 on 4 October, becoming the first Singaporean to reach the top-five in the world rankings.
He also became the first brand ambassador for super-app company Grab Singapore.
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