Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew has said he hopes to stand on the top step of the podium “for real one day” after narrowly missing out on the KFF Singapore Open men’s singles title.
The world No. 14 smiled sheepishly and apologised after mistakenly climbing to the top step of the podium, a light-hearted moment that drew laughter from the crowd at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The 28-year-old had just lost a hard-fought final to Frenchman Alex Lanier, going down 17-21, 21-15, 21-14 in 74 minutes.
Loh became the first Singaporean to reach the men’s singles final since Ronald Susilo in 2002, but he could not end the country’s title drought in the event. He thanked fans for their support throughout the week and said he hopes to do better next year.
En route to the final of the US$1 million (S$1.28 million) tournament, Loh required three games to beat each of India’s 37th-ranked Srikanth Kidambi and 35th-ranked H.S. Prannoy, 18th-ranked Taiwanese Chi Yu-jen, and Japan’s world No. 19 Koki Watanabe.
But despite his best efforts in front of the partisan home crowd – who turned out in red outfits, flags, clappers and unleashed the Kallang Wave – another three-game win proved beyond his reach. He is now 1-3 in his head-to-head record against 2025 European champion Lanier in their fourth three-game encounter.
Drawing a series of unforced errors from his opponent, he got as close as 13-14 before Lanier woke up in time to level the match. It was a bigger gulf of 10-19 in the decider, and Loh would produce desperate saves to stave off three match-points before dumping a backhand into the net to lose the match.
Loh admitted to feeling stressed before the final, and had asked himself “what if I lose with the whole of Singapore watching?” But his wife’s encouragement helped, as she told him that he had already won by playing in every round of the tournament.
He said: “This week has been physically straining. I tried to push myself to the limit and I think I did that. I didn’t give up and I fought for every point until the end. Even if I was going to lose, I was still going to fight.”
Battle he did, to the point that his good friend Lanier called him “annoying”.
The 21-year-old said: “It’s a weird mix of respect and rivalry. We want to win but also want to share the moment, and I was excited to play against him today.
“Determination was definitely the key today. I lost a little bit of myself in the second set. He played a bit better but I was just too impatient and didn’t want to play the rallies. But I found the solution in the moment and I’m very proud of that.”
Behind the laughs and banter, Loh acknowledged that the defeat hurt, especially as he had come to within one game of winning his first Singapore Open title. But he was also comforted that he found new levels of physical, mental, and playing consistency.
After joking that he would punch Lanier if there were no cameras around, he said: “Of course, I could be happier now. I did what I could and he just played better so credit to him.
“When someone is very confident and playing crazy well, it can be like that. I was like that the past few days, and why badminton is so exciting, interesting and fun.”
Following his run to the final, Loh pocketed US$34,000 to take his career earnings past the million-dollar mark when combined with his US$378,474 in career prize money and S$495,000 from monetary rewards and public donations after his historic 2021 world championship win.
He will have a few days of rest before the June 2-7 Indonesia Open, a Super 1000 event, in Jakarta.
Praising Loh for his performance during the week, national singles assistant head coach Kelvin Ho said: “He showed Singaporeans he has fighting spirit, very high motivation, and he is still a world beater.
“Moving forward, he has to show consistency in his performances in other tournaments. It’s normal to be fatigued today after playing three games every day, but he will be more ready to last the distance in the future.