Kuala Lumpur: Well, first of all, you’re probably wondering who Loh Kean Yew is? The 21-year-old is a Singaporean player and was born in Penang, Malaysia. He and his brother went to Singapore when he was 13 after receiving Foreign Sports Scholarship from the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA), and has since studied and played for Singapore.
Loh has been regarded as the biggest dark horse at the 2019 Thailand Masters, as he started from the qualifying round before en routing to the final. He made good use of his speed and well-disguised overhead drop shot to down Brice Leverdez of France 14-21, 21-10, 21-14 in the semi-final on Saturday.
When asked about facing against the badminton’s all-time great on Sunday, Loh seemed to remain calm and confident.
“He is one of the best badminton players of all time, so I am the underdog and have nothing to lose,” said Loh.
“I can’t get too excited. I need to maintain my composure and treat it like any other match and stay focused,” added Loh.
Meanwhile, top seed Lin Dan of China remained on course for men’s singles success at Thailand Masters after rallied from another three-set battle to beat teammate and No. 8 seed Lu Guangzu 21-11, 6-21, 21-18.
In women’s singles final, unseeded Fitriani Fitriani of Indonesia will face-off against No. 8 seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand on Sunday.
