Singapore’s Long Wait Ends
Loh Kean Yew became the first Singaporean to win an HSBC BWF World Tour Super 500 or equivalent Superseries title in over ten years as he beat second seed Lee Zii Jia in the final of the HYLO Open 2021 on Sunday.
· DEV SUKUMAR
The last Singaporeans to achieve the feat were women’s doubles pair Yao Lei/Shinta Mulia Sari at the Singapore Open 2010. Loh became the first male player to win a title of this level in the Superseries/World Tour era.
Lee edged Loh 21-19 in a closely contested opening game, but after 13-all in the second, the Singaporean ran up an unbroken sequence of eight points to take the match to a decider. The third game was close until midway, and after Loh had broken away for a 17-12 lead, Lee retired with injury. Lee had received treatment for what appeared to be a strained back.
“Very pleased to win my first BWF World Tour Super 500! My commiserations to Lee Zii Jia and I wish him a speedy recovery,” said Loh in a post on his social media accounts.