SINGAPORE — After Singaporean shuttler Loh Kean Yew won his first career BWF World Tour Super 500 title on Sunday (Nov 7), beating his higher-ranked Malaysian opponent in the process, a Malaysian newspaper has lamented the loss of badminton talent to Singapore in recent years.

In an article headlined “Penang-born makes Singapore proud”, the New Straits Times (NST) pointed out that apart from Loh, another athlete Yeo Jia Min also has links to Malaysia, where her parents were born. Yeo was defeated in the women’s singles final of the same competition on Sunday. 

Loh, 24, and Yeo, 22, are Singapore’s top male and female badminton players. Loh and Yeo are ranked No 39 and 26 in the world, respectively.

On Sunday, Loh beat Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia in the Hylo Open men's singles final. Lee, who is ranked eighth in the world, retired from the match with Loh leading 19-21, 21-13,17-12.

Earlier in the day, in the women's singles finals, Yeo was beaten 21-10, 21-14 by Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan, who is ranked world number 14.

The NST article wrote: “Singaporeans are over the moon with the success of their trailblazing men's singles ace, but not many are aware that Kean Yew could have very well represented Malaysia.

"This is because he was born in Penang, and is a product of the Penang (Badminton Association).”

Loh was born in Penang. In 2009, his older brother Kean Hean moved to Singapore.

A year later, Loh Kean Yew followed suit at the age of 13, after being offered a scholarship by the Singapore Sports School. He has since gone on to obtain his Singapore citizenship, serve National Service and represent Singapore in the international arena.

The NST article, which was published on Tuesday, noted that Loh Kean Hean, 26, also plays for the Singapore national team as a doubles player, and he won the Dutch Open doubles title last month partnering another Penang-born player Terry Hee, 26. 

In 2017, Loh Kean Yew spoke about his decision to play for Singapore, following his defeat to Malaysia's Soong Joo Ven in three sets in the men's team event semi-final at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Sea Games.

"I do not regret this decision. (Singapore has) given me all the support I needed since I continued my studies there when I was 13," he said.

"I don't deny that my coach in Malaysia had taken care of me and developed my skills; however, I have long studied and adapted to life in Singapore.”

The NST article quoted an unidentified source “close to the Badminton Association of Malaysia” who claimed that the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) joins "our tournaments during the holidays” to scout for potential players.

"It's not a wrong practice but they would try to entice the parents first,” the source added.

The NST article also claimed that Singapore shifted its focus to players from Malaysia and Indonesia, after initially “naturalising players from China”.

TODAY has reached out to SBA for comment.