CNA – Loh Kean Yew’s strong run at the Korea Open ended with a loss to Denmark’s world number 16 Anders Antonsen in the men’s singles final yesterday.
At the Jinnam Stadium in Yeosu, the eighth-ranked Loh fell 21-11, 11-21, 19-21 in a see-saw clash. Loh was gunning for his first Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour title since winning the World Championships in 2021. Antonsen looked the more assured of the two early on as he raced to 5-1 lead.
But the Singaporean has proven time and time again at this tournament that he is unfazed by going behind, and a series of trademark jump smashes helped him reel in the Dane and take an 11-10 lead going into the interval.
Loh stretched the gap to 16-10 and Antonsen simply had no answer as the Singaporean closed out the first game in 16 minutes.
The second game followed the same pattern as the first in the early exchanges, but it was Antonsen who took a 11-6 lead. Loh failed to string together a run of points and his opponent would comfortably take the second.
Unlike the first two games, the decider saw Loh take an early lead as he surged ahead 7-3.
