After a valiant attempt at defending the BWF world championship Loh Kean Yew won in Huelva, Spain, last year, he bowed out in the quarter-finals on Friday (Aug 26), in a match against Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in this year’s games in Tokyo.
And while many Singaporeans, not to mention the athlete himself, were undoubtedly disappointed by the loss, Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim had heartening words for Singapore’s first ever-world champion.
In an Aug 28 (Sunday) Facebook post, he underlined that setbacks can be difficult to overcome, and encouragement from others can be a big help.
The Sengkang GRC had written, “Life is almost never linear, and the gains we make can easily be unwound…
As a nation, we often celebrate successes, especially in sporting achievement. But when our dedicated athletes stumble, we may be less forthcoming in offering our encouragement.
Yet as every sportsperson knows, repeats are tough, and just as important, when they are down, sustained belief—both by others, as well as themselves—can help them recover and return to winning ways.”
This could also be applied to all other aspects of life, he added.
Addressing Loh, 25, Assoc Prof Lim wrote, “To Kean Yew: we know you have given your all. Hang tough, we’re behind you still, and we’ll see you on the podium next time round.”
On Aug 22, the first day of the World Championships, Loh breezed past Spain’s Pablo Abian 21-12, 21-12, in a match that lasted only 29 minutes.
Two days later he bested world number 40, Guatemala’s Kevin Cordon, in 49 minutes, 21-12, 11-21, 21-12.
On Aug 25, Loh made it past Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka-long 21-11, 11-4, who is ranked 11th in the world, in a 23-minute match.
The 28-year-old Ng requested a medical timeout in the second set due to an injury to his right thigh. He resumed playing after a physiotherapist attended to him, but retired because of the injury shortly afterwards.
In the quarter-finals, Kunlavut defeated Loh 21-12, 17-21, 21-8.
The Thai athlete, 21, who was the world youth champion from 2017 to 2019, went on to face Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen in the final, with the Danish athlete taking the title 21-5, 21-16.
Axelsen first won the title in 2017 and is the world’s number 1 player.
“Concluded my world champ campaign today with a top 8 exit. Though I wasn’t able to defend my title, I am satisfied with my performance this week. Kudos to @kunlavut.v who was excellent on court today – all the best in the semi-finals!
It’s been a busy season, and it resumes next week in Osaka as we compete at the Japan Open. This journey is made better with the support from my teammates who have played some solid matches this week👏🏻 I’m thankful for our support team, and going to leave Tokyo with plenty of gratitude especially to all the volunteers who took extra care to make us feel at home,” he wrote in his latest Instagram post.
Undeterred, Loh has moved on to his next match on Tuesday (Aug 30), where he faces China’s Zhao Jun Peng in the first round of the Japan Open.
/TISG
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