Singapore's Loh Kean Yew out of badminton World Tour Finals after losing final group match
SINGAPORE — Singapore's Loh Kean Yew was on Friday (Dec 9) knocked out of the season-ending Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals in Bangkok after losing to Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in their final group match.
SINGAPORE — Singapore's Loh Kean Yew was on Friday (Dec 9) knocked out of the season-ending Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals in Bangkok after losing to Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in their final group match.
World number three Loh needed a win to advance to the knockout stage after his loss to Indonesia's Jonatan Christie on Thursday.
But Ginting proved too strong, beating Loh 21-12, 23-21 in 38 minutes on Friday in their Group B match.
After losing the first set, Loh led for much of the second set. He was on his way to winning the set before Ginting rallied with six consecutive points to regain the lead.
Despite saving two match points, Loh lost the second set and the match.
Before Friday's match, Loh and Ginting had an even head-to-head record, with two wins each.
Loh ended the competition with one win from three group matches, placing third in the group, after his first group game win over Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien-chen.
The Indonesian pair of Christie and Ginting moved on to the semi-finals. Christie defeated Chou 21-13, 12-21, 21-17 in the other Group B match on Friday.
Loh is the first Singaporean man to qualify for the prestigious tournament, which has a total prize money of US$1.5 million (S$2.03 million).
Meanwhile, world number one Viktor Axelsen suffered defeat in his final Group A match against already-eliminated H S Prannoy of India 21-14, 17-21, 18-21.
The defeat was only the third this year for the dominant 28-year-old Dane who had already qualified for the semi-finals of this competition.
Japan's Kodai Naraoka rounded out the men's semi-finals line-up after defeating China's Lu Guangzu 21-19, 21-15.
Naraoka will next face Axelsen in the semi-final, with the Indonesian pair of Christie and Ginting squaring off in the other semi-final. Naraoka and Christie both lost to their respective opponents in the group stage of the tournament.
The semi-finals take place on Saturday, with the final scheduled for Sunday. CNA
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