Singapore — The country’s badminton World Champion, Loh Kean Yew, was defeated at the finals of the India Open on Sunday (Jan 16).
However, the competition, which kicks off the 2022 BWF World Tour season, saw a victory for married couple Terry Hee and Tan Wei Han, who won their first Super 500 mixed doubles title.
India’s Lakshya Sen, 20, took the championship at the India Open, defeating Loh 24-22, 21-17, in a 54-minute match.
This is Sen’s first Super 500 triumph. As the winner of the tournament, he took home US$30,000 (SG$40,470), and Loh won US$15,200 (SG$20,503) as runner-up.
“It didn’t turn out my way unfortunately, this only means there’s a lot more to work on. My heartiest congratulations to @senlakshya for playing a solid match today to be crowned the new India Open champion. 👏🏼,” Loh wrote in an Instagram post on Monday (Jan 17).
He also offered a “big congratulations” to Hee and Tan.
They bested Malaysia’s Chen Tang Jie and Peck Yen Wei 21-15, 21-18 in the final on Sunday.
The couple, who were married on Oct 2, 2021 won US$31,600 (SG$42,590) at the tournament.
This is also their first Super 500 win.
“Being married has led to more financial commitments. This prize money is a one-off thing and is a small step to easing our burdens. It is not easy being a professional athlete, hopefully our win coupled with Singapore’s recent success can attract more sponsors and funding,” Tan is quoted in The Straits Times as saying.
Hee and Tan are now headed toward the Super 300 Syed Modi International in Uttar Pradesh this week.
As for Sen, widely considered a rising star in the badminton world, winning at home was particularly sweet.
“I’ve started the year with a win, and that too at home, so it feels good. Today was a crucial first game. I was leading by a few points and then he caught up and I’m happy I pulled it out. I came with high expectations of myself. After the World Championships I didn’t have a lot of practice, I trained for a week before coming here but I had the rhythm from the beginning. I played well in the quarterfinals and semifinals and in the final I was much more confident,” he said.
Loh called the tournament a “particularly challenging” one, and wished a quick recovery for those who had to bow out of matches due to Covid-19.
“Speedy recovery to those who have fallen ill, and I hope everyone else keeps in good health and spirit. Many thanks to the India Open organisers and volunteers for putting this tournament together. And a big thank you to all for your support as always 🙏🏻🇸🇬” /TISG
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