Strong start: Loh Kean Yew beats India’s Lakshya Sen in first round of Badminton Asia Championships

SINGAPORE: It was a strong start for former world champion Loh Kean Yew at the Badminton Asia Championships in Dubai on Tuesday (Apr 25) as he defeated Indian athlete Lakshya Sen 21-7, 23-21 in just 37 minutes.

The 21-year-old Sen memorably beat Loh, 25, at the final of the India Open in January of last year, 24-22, 21-17, in a 54-minute match that kicked off the 2022 BWF World Tour season for the Singaporean champion.

In August of last year, the two faced off again, with Sen again beating Loh at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

However, this time around, it was Loh’s turn to best Sen and will face either Bahaedeen Ahmad Alshannik of Jordan or Hussein Zayan Shaheed Zaki of the Maldives in the next round of the competition.

He started the game aggressively, and as a result, the Indian player could only rack up seven points in the first set.

Sen rallied in the second set and even led at one point at 20-19. But he appears to have lost steam after that, allowing Loh to win the match.

“The Singapore star used his lightning-fast movement to put pressure on Lakshya, who was struggling to keep (up) with the pace in the first game. Loh took the opening game without allowing to (sic) Lakshya to gain any sort of momentum,” reads a report on the match from India Today Sports Desk.

Singapore’s first-ever badminton world champion, Loh is ranked seventh globally. His highest ranking was third at the end of last year.

Sen, a former world junior number 1, is currently ranked 25th in the world. His highest world ranking was sixth in November of last year.

For next month’s SEA Games, Loh will be going to Cambodia but will only be participating in the team competition because, by May 14, Loh will be in Suzhou, China, for the Sudirman Cup, Yahoo! News reported. /TISG

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