Singapore's Loh Kean Yew beats world number 1 Christie, guaranteed historic Asian Games medal

NAGOYA: After a gruelling Saturday which saw him face two opponents in the span of less than twelve hours, Singapore's Loh Kean Yew received an encouraging text from his mother-in-law.

"I was telling her that my draw was very tough. And she sent me a quote saying that if God wants you to be strong, he will send you the toughest challenge to try to overcome it and keep learning from it," recalled the 29-year-old.

The obstacle facing Loh the next day in the Asian Games quarter-finals was Indonesian world number 1 Jonatan Christie, an opponent he had never beaten before. 

And at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium on Sunday (Sep 27), the Singaporean snapped his 10-match winless streak, guaranteeing Singapore a historic men's singles medal in badminton. 

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Loh, ranked 13th in the world, beat Christie 21-14, 21-19 to book his place in the semi-finals.

Singapore's only Games badminton medal has been the women's team bronze at the 2006 Doha Games.

"I just tried my best to stay consistent," Loh told reporters. "That aside, I just tried to focus on every point."

The match's early exchanges were close, with Loh never leading by more than three points and shading things 11-10 at the interval. But the Singaporean looked like a man on a mission as he stayed patient en route to taking the first game.

It was Christie with the better start in the second game, but Loh kept his focus and reeled off seven straight points and snatched a 11-6 interval lead. The Indonesian was far from out as he clawed his way back to level at 14-14 and then took the lead at 18-16. 

Loh, however, was not to be denied and stormed back for the victory.

"I can't be too happy yet. I still need to stay focused for the next match, and I need to go back and rest and prepare myself," he said.

Loh will face South Korea's world number 46 Yoo Tae-bin for a spot in the final on Monday. 

The unheralded Yoo has been on a giant-killing run at the Games, dumping out Chinese Taipei's Lin Chun-yi (world number 11), China's Shi Yu Qi (world number 6) and Japan's Kodai Naraoka (world number 7).

There is no bronze medal match in the competition, with both losing semi-finalists awarded bronze.

Christie has endured a tough Games. While he was part of the Indonesian squad that won gold in the team event, he lost all three of his singles matches. 

On Saturday, he eked out a three-game win over Sri Lanka’s Viren Nettasinghe in a round-of-16 tie played into the early hours of the morning. Like Loh, this was his second match of the day.