PARIS – It was the best of times. Riding the high of beating China’s world No. 6 Li Shifeng in the Olympics round of 16, Singapore’s 12th-ranked Loh Kean Yew felt he had momentum. He felt calm, relaxed and confident of beating Denmark’s world No. 2 Viktor Axelsen in...
The match was an uphill task for Singaporean shuttler Loh Kean Yew , who had just two wins in his previous 10 meetings with Danish world No. 2 Axelsen.PARIS – It was the best of times. Riding the high of beating China’s world No. 6 Li Shifeng in the Olympics round of 16, Singapore’s 12th-ranked Loh Kean Yew felt he had momentum.
Some thick bandage and tape stopped the bleeding but it also restricted his game as he lost the first game too easily. In the second game, it was 8-8 when he needed another medical time out. Axelsen, smelling blood from the disruption, never trailed after that and killed off the tie despite facing stronger resistance.
“I’m satisfied, but at the same time no. I’m happy I gave my all and with how far I reached, but it’s also heartbreaking that I couldn’t go further than this. I’m sad especially with the first game in which I couldn’t perform very well. I was hoping to put on a better show.” Loh went for broke in the second game, mixing winners with wild shots as he reeled off five straight points to make it 14-14, only to lose four consecutive points and the match when he hesitated on taking a shot in the back court.
The other semi-final will be contested between Thailand’s world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn, who stunned China’s world No. 1 Shi Yuqi 21-12, 21-10, and Malaysia’s seventh-ranked Lee Zii Jia, who overcame Denmark’s world No. 3 Anders Antonsen 21-17, 21-15.
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