Loh Kean Yew has Covid-19, withdraws from Swiss Open

Singapore’s first badminton world champion has withdrawn from the Swiss Open, which is taking place this week (Mar 22 to 27) at St Jakobshalle in Basel.

Loh Kean Yew joins the more than 470 million people in the world known to have had Covid-19, and the latest in the Singapore team to be infected. He tested positive in Birmingham last Friday, the Singapore Badminton Association told The Straits Times.  That was two days after he lost in the first round of the All-England Open to Denmark’s Anders Antonsen, who is ranked third in the world.

Loh had beaten Antonsen in the semi-final of the World Championships in Huelva, Spain, and went on to take the gold medal on Dec 19, 2021. Antonsen tied for the bronze with India’s Lakshya Sen in that event.

On Wednesday morning Loh also announced his withdrawal from the Swiss Open over social media, putting up posts on Facebook and Instagram.

“Been down with Covid over the past few days, which is why I had to withdraw from Swiss Open. My symptoms have been mild and I’m monitoring my conditions closely. Many thanks to all of you for your care and concern. Take care and keep safe!”

He also wrote that he will be “using the downtime to unwind” and hopes to get back into training soon “to prepare for the upcoming tournament marathon in the next few months.” 

A spokesman for the Singapore Badminton Association told ST that Loh cannot fly out until his Covid-19 tests are negative, “so essentially it is a waiting game before he can leave and return to Singapore”.

The athlete will then train in Singapore until he heads out to South Korea, for the Korea Open (April 5 to 10) and the Korea Masters (April 12 to 17).

Loh’s brother and fellow badminton player, Loh Kean Hean, is still playing at the Swiss Open, in men’s doubles and mixed doubles events.

His partner for the men’s doubles is Terry Hee, and the pair are currently ranked 88th in the world. Their world tour rank is 36th.

For mixed doubles, his partner is Tan Wei Han. Together they are ranked 69th in the world, and their world tour rank is 13th.

Loh Kean Yew’s rank, meanwhile, is 10th in the world, and his world tour rank is 6th.

The Swiss Open would have been his first opportunity to compete as a seeded player in the Badminton World Federation World Tour.

/TISG

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