Loh Kean Yew bests Thailand’s Sitthikom Thammasin in first round of Denmark Open

Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew won over Sitthikom Thammasin of Thailand in the first round of the Denmark Open on Tuesday (October 18) at the Jyske Bank Arena in Odense.

Loh, last year’s badminton world champion, is ranked fifth in the world, while his Thai opponent is ranked 36th.

Watch a 3-minute clip from the match tweeted by ESPN Asia here:

Back to winning ways.

After taking a break following his early exit from the Japan Open, former world champion 🇸🇬 @reallohkeanyew returned to competition at #DenmarkOpen2022 with victory over 🇹🇭 Thailand's Sitthikom Thammasin! #BWFWorldTour pic.twitter.com/D3iv5niIbx

— ESPN Asia (@ESPNAsia) October 18, 2022

Loh, 25, defeated Sitthikom, 27, 21-13, 22-20 in the opening match of the Denmark Open. In 2012, Sitthikom, then only 17, won the men’s singles title at the Singapore International Series.

Loh breezed past the first set but found himself trailing in the second, 17-12. He rallied and went on to win the match.

Loh will be facing India’s Kidambi Srikanth in the next round 9:00 am (3:00 pm Singapore time)

The 29-year-old Srikanth, ranked 11th in the world, was defeated by Loh when he and the Singaporean athlete faced off at the World Championships last year in Huelva, Spain.

Earlier this month, Loh became Singapore’s highest-ranked men’s badminton player ever, despite an uneven 2022. He is the first Singaporean to break into the top five badminton players in the world.

Loh took a much-needed break last month after having had a very busy match schedule this year.

After making history in December last year when he won the championship in Spain, he immediately went on to the Indian Open in January, where he lost to India’s 20-year-old Lakshya Sen, 22-24, 17-21, in the final in a game that lasted nearly an hour.

On Sept 1, after a defeat in the Japan Open, Loh announced over social media that he would be taking a break “to allow my body and mind to rest, recover and recharge.” 

He wrote, “It’s been a long tour – one filled with many lessons and opportunities. I’ll cherish the happy times and learn from the tough times to create better experiences for the future.”

Later that month, Grab Singapore announced Loh as its brand ambassador.

The athlete joined the company’s immersion program for a day, experiencing the life of a GrabFood delivery partner.

In an Instagram post, Loh announced the partnership, writing: They’ve got the food, the goods, and now—they’ve got me. 😎💪🏼🏸 Excited to announce that I have joined the Grab Singapore family! @grab_sg

/TISG

Jamus Lim to Loh Kean Yew: Hang tough, we’re behind you still, and we’ll see you on the podium next time round