22-7-2023 (SINGAPORE) Singaporean badminton star, Loh Kean Yew, continued his remarkable performance at the Korea Open on Saturday (Jul 22) by defeating world No 4 and top seed Kodai Naraoka with a thrilling score of 18-21, 21-16, 21-15, securing his spot in the finals of the men’s singles event.
This victory marks Loh’s third career win against Naraoka, who has yet to defeat the formidable Singaporean on the court.
The former world champion, Loh, will now face either Anders Antonsen or Shi Yu Qi in the finals, making it his second finals appearance this year.
Earlier this year, Loh reached the finals of the Badminton Asia Championships but faced a defeat at the hands of Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting.
Throughout the year, Loh has shown exceptional form, reaching the quarterfinals of two Badminton World Federation tournaments – the India Open and Malaysia Open – both held in January.
In those tournaments, Loh faced Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn, and despite putting up strong fights, he was unable to progress further.
Prior to his victory over Naraoka, Loh had already demonstrated his prowess by defeating China’s Zhao Jun Peng in the round of 16. This victory was especially significant as Zhao had previously defeated Loh at the All-England championships earlier in the year. However, this time, Loh emerged triumphant with a hard-fought 21-19, 17-21, 21-6 win.
In another impressive match, Loh secured a win against Malaysia’s Ng Tze Yong, in a rematch of last year’s Commonwealth Games men’s singles quarterfinals.
