Which Singaporean do you think of when you hear of the initials “LKY”?
For most of us, it would be the legendary Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
But hold your horses, as there’s another local rising star with the same initials.
We’re talking about Loh Kean Yew.
Yes, badminton player Loh has just made history (again) by sealing his place as the first Singaporean to win a Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championship title. He competed in the Men’s Singles category.
Yesterday (19 Dec), the current world number 22 went up against India’s Srikanth Kidambi in the men’s singles final in Huelva, Spain.
After 43 nerve-racking minutes, the final score was 21-15, and 22-20.
Soon after he won, an uproar of congratulatory wishes poured for the 24-year-old. Some of them came from fellow athlete Joseph Schooling, Mandopop singer JJ Lin, and our very own PM Lee.
Read on to find out ten facts you need to know about Loh Kean Yew, the man who made Singapore proud.
Born in Penang, Moved to Singapore at the Age of 13
Loh was born on 26 June 1997 in Penang, Malaysia. At 13, he moved to Singapore after he was awarded the Foreign Sports Scholarship from the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA).
He then received education at the Singapore Sports School and studied briefly in Republic Polytechnic before dropping out.
For good reasons, to become a professional badminton player of course.
Despite spending a huge bulk of his life in Singapore, Loh’s parents are presently still living in their hometown.
His older brother, Kean Hean, also represents Singapore in badminton.
Became a Singaporean at 16 and Served National Service
In 2015, Loh managed to gain citizenship as a Singaporean.
From 2016 to 2018, he then went on to serve National Service (NS) as a transport operator. He earned the rank of corporal first class (CFC).
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While serving the nation, he also played badminton for the Singapore Armed Forces Sports Association (SAFSA). He was awarded the best sportsman title.
First Major Game was the SEA Games
One shot, one kill.
For his first major game representing Singapore at the Southeast Asian Games in 2015, Loh bagged a bronze medal.
2015 sounds quite like a memorable year for him.
Rose to prominence after beating several top badminton players
At the 2019 Thailand Open finals, Loh started to gain recognition after winning badminton star Lin Dan.
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To win a two-time Olympic champion and five-time world champion sounds like a great feat. But that’s not all.
Since then, he has continued to show great tenacity in beating other higher-ranked players.
Within the past two months: Loh has beaten:
- World Number 1 Viktor Axelsen (World Champs)
- World Number 2 Kento Momota (Indonesia Open)
- World Number 3 Anders Antonsen (World Champs)
- World Number 4 Chou Tien Chen (Hylo Open)
Two major titles since July
Since the Olympics in July, Loh has competed in four European tournaments. He has managed to earn two titles.
On 17 Oct, Kean Yew won the Yonex Dutch Open in the Netherlands. His competitor was India’s world No. 21 Lakshya Sen.
The total prize money was USD$15,000.
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On 7 Nov, he won his first career BWF World Tour Super 500 title at the Hylo Open after Malaysian player Lee Zii Jia retired due to a back injury.
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Extremely close to his coach
Behind every athlete lies a coach responsible for unlocking their potential to maximise their fullest performance.
Kelvin Ho, Loh’s coach, has gone through the highs and lows together for a long time. To be exact, it was since Loh was 14 and Ho was 21.
Some badminton fanatics may have also seen Ho beating Loh’s chest “like a gorilla” during his games.
To clear up the air, Ho clarified that he beats Loh’s chest vigorously when he needs some morale boost and help control his emotions.
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Trains 6 days a week for at least 30 hours
Some may say that talent is a subset of hard work.
For Loh, perseverance and dedication are clearly non-negotiable. He trains six days a week for at least 30 hours.
On four days, he has double training sessions which comprise court, gym sessions, and cardio runs.
When competitions are drawing to a near, Loh also spends time analysing his opponents by trying to find their weaknesses.
Had a month-long training camp in Dubai with Viktor Alexsen
In August this year, Loh was invited by Olympic champion Viktor Alexsen to a month-long training camp in Dubai.
Four other shuttlers across the globe were also a part of this training stint. They were Toby Penty, Brian Yang, Felix Berestedt, and Sen Lakshya.
Iron sharpens iron.
Plans to rest and recharge for the upcoming season
On Monday (20 Dec), Loh posted on Instagram about his historic moment after winning BWF World Championships 2021.
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In his caption, he thanked several key figures who supported him throughout his journey to becoming a world champion.
He then ended off by saying that he was going to savour this significant milestone for now and get some rest to recharge for the upcoming season.
“The work begins again soon”, he said.
View this post on Instagram
Paris 2024 on his mind
In the Olympic Games this year, Loh was one of the flag bearers for the opening ceremony. He won two of his three group-stage games.
However, his exit came after a three-game loss to Indonesia’ Jonatan Christie.
Speaking to the media post-match, Loh highlighted that he would like to have another shot at the next Olympics. He said, “That’s another goal of mine. This time I didn’t get a medal, so hopefully the next one.”
The best part? Since he’s already served his NS, he can now concentrate on the sports.
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Featured Image: Facebook (Team Singapore)
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