SINGAPORE — Loh Kean Yew missed a golden opportunity to earn his second Badminton World Federation World Championships medal as he lost 22-20, 21-18 to unheralded Canadian Victor Lai in the men's singles quarter-finals on Friday (Aug 29).
World No. 50 Lai, who was 100th at the start of the year before he became the Pan Am champion in April, is assured of at least a bronze. He was the only unseeded player left in the draw.
World No. 9 Loh was the hot favourite even though the Singaporean was making a comeback after a bacterial infection that left him bedridden for weeks and kept him out of international competition in July.
But following slow starts in his earlier victories over 233rd-ranked Mauritian Julien Paul, Finland's world No. 53 Kalle Koljonen and Japan's world No. 8 Kodai Naraoka, he was once again off-colour, committing numerous unforced errors to allow his opponent to score a mighty upset.
Lai, 20, took the first two points after his more illustrious opponent smashed into the net before he played a sharp angled shot to signal his intent.
Having already claimed the scalps of China's world No. 11 Lu Guangzu and 38th-ranked South Korean Jeon Hyeok-jin, he kept things simple against Loh and didn't give up too many attacking opportunities, relying on unforced errors in the rallies to lead 11-8.
While it looked like normal service resumed after the 2021 world champion went on a 9-1 run to claim a 17-12 advantage, Lai's patient play paid off as he worked his way back to take the first game, profiting from Loh's misjudgement.
Loh led 4-0 in the second game but Lai bounced back with eight straight points and never looked back.
Full report to come.
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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
