Loh Kean Yew repeats World C'ships final win at Denmark Open
SINGAPORE — Loh Kean Yew repeated his Badminton World Championship final win at the Denmark Open, ousting India's Kidambi Srikanth in their last-16 tie at the Jyske Bank Arena in Odense on Thursday (20 October).
The men's singles world No.5 - who had beaten Srikanth last December to earn his monumental world title triumph - was triumphant once more against his world No.11 rival, taking just 34 minutes to score a dominant 21-13, 21-z win
Unlike that World Championship final victory, in which Loh had to recover from deficits in both games, this was a much more smooth-sailing affair for the 25-year-old.
Seizing control midway through the first game, the Singaporean broke a 9-all tie to win nine of the next 10 points and eventually take the opening game.
Loh then raced to a 15-4 lead in the second game, but Srikanth made a big push to close the gap to 15-17 before Loh claimed the final four points for the win.
Next opponent could be Axelsen
Next up for the former world champion in the quarter-finals could be the reigning world champion: Loh's mentor and world No.1 Viktor Axelsen, who was to face compatriot Rasmus Gemke later on Thursday.
Singapore's other participant at the Open, women's singles player Yeo Jia Min, failed to clear her opening hurdle as she fell 5-21, 13-21 to Japan's Aya Ohori on Wednesday.
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