Loh Kean Yew advances to Singapore Badminton Open final after beating Japan's Watanabe

Loh Kean Yew secured his spot in the KFF Singapore Badminton Open final with a hard-fought victory over Japan's Koki Watanabe in Saturday's semi-finals. The world No. 14, a crowd favorite, triumphed 21-15, 15-21, 21-9 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

This win marks Loh's third career victory against the world No. 19 Watanabe in six encounters. He is set to compete against France's Alex Lanier in Sunday's final. Lanier, ranked ninth globally, defeated Indonesia's Alwi Farhan in his semi-final match. Loh has a mixed record against Lanier, winning one of their last three meetings, including a victory at last year's Singapore Open.

Loh experienced a slow start in his semi-final against Watanabe, but quickly established an 11-6 lead. Despite Watanabe closing the gap to 14-11, Loh secured the first game. The second game was more closely contested, with Loh initially leading 11-9 before Watanabe mounted a comeback to take the game. In the deciding third game, Loh demonstrated strong mental fortitude, recovering from an early 0-3 deficit to build an 11-5 lead and ultimately close out the match to the delight of the home crowd.

This final appearance is a significant achievement for Loh at his home tournament, surpassing his previous best of a semi-final finish in 2022. His path to the final was challenging, involving three-set victories over India's Srikanth Kidambi and H S Prannoy, followed by his semi-final win. Loh is the sole remaining Singaporean competitor in the tournament.