After a defeat in the Japan Open on Thursday (Sept 1) Singapore’s first badminton world champion Loh Kean Yew announced over social media that he will be taking a break for now “to allow my body and mind to rest, recover and recharge.”
Loh, 25, who has had a very busy match schedule this year, said his next games will be at the Denmark Open, which will be held from Oct 18 to 23.
This means Loh will have some weeks to rest and recuperate.
After he announced that he would be taking a break, supporters and well-wishers left comments on his Instagram and Facebook pages, telling him to “have a good rest” and to “come back stronger.”
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.”
The national athlete graciously thanked those who have been part of his campaign, including his “teammates, coach, support team at SBA and SSI, sponsors, fans, the tournament organisers and volunteers” as well as his family and friends.
He added that his most recent match had been a tough one.
“Had to dig deep for the last ounce of energy this morning 😅 it’s time for me to take a break, to allow my body and mind to rest, recover and recharge.”
The match had been a close game against India’s HS Prannoy, 20-22, 19-21, which lasted 44 minutes.
And despite his loss, Loh still offered words of encouragement to his fellow badminton players.
“Here’s to my Team Singapore teammates, you are not alone. Stay strong,” he wrote in his post.
Loh made history in December of last year when he won the championship at Huelva, Spain, defeating India’s Kidambi Srikanth 21-15, 22-20.
However, since then, it has been an uneven year for Loh, who has not yet won a title in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Tour 2022.
His highlights for this year were coming in second place to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsam at the SEA Games in Vietnam in May, as well as making it to the Indian Open final in January, where he lost to India’s 20-year-old Lakshya Sen, 22-24, 17-21, in a game that lasted nearly an hour.
Most recently, he reached the quarter-finals at the BWF championships in Tokyo in late August but bowed out to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-12, 17-21, 21-8.
His fans showed that they were fully supportive of his decision, and wished him only the best.
/TISG