Singapore's Loh Kean Yew stays calm to beat Chou Tien-chen to win Taipei Open crown
SINGAPORE – In clinching the Taipei Open crown on May 11, Loh Kean Yew bagged his 10th career badminton title as he became the first Singaporean to win at this tournament.
But more importantly, he looks to have rediscovered his killer instinct as he beat home favourite and world No. 7 Chou Tien-chen 21-14, 15-21, 22-20 in the men's singles final of the US$240,000 (S$312,000) event for his first title since winning the Spain Masters in March 2024, four months before he became a father.
The 27-year-old told The Straits Times: 'I have been in training and on the tour a lot, and I don't get to spend a lot of time with my wife and baby. I'm really glad to win this title. It feels like my hard work and sacrifices are worth it.
'We are certainly moving in the right direction, so hopefully we will keep doing well.'
Throughout the Taipei Open, world No. 11 Loh showed his mental fortitude to come back from deficits to beat Hong Kong's Chan Yin Chak (105th), Finland's Joakim Oldorff (52nd), Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul (49th) of Thailand and Taiwanese Wang Tzu-wei (26th) in the earlier rounds.
He displayed more of the same in the final against 35-year-old Chou, who has done outstandingly to get back into the top 10 after bouncing back from stage zero colorectal cancer in 2023.
Loh made a fine start in the first game to lead 3-0, but soon found himself trailing 8-10.
Instead of folding, he fought to regain control of the game and began his comeback by winning a 52-shot rally with a body shot after making two diving backhand saves. He also won 13 out of 17 points, including all the last six points, to close out the opener.
Seeking his fifth Taipei Open title, Chou came roaring back with some delicate net drops to put Loh on the backfoot and level the match with a 21-15 win.
But it was the 2021 world champion who prevailed in a tight decider, wobbling as he squandered four match points from 20-16 up. But after a successful challenge following a precise drop shot, he won 22-20 to seal victory in the Super 300 tournament, the fifth tier of the Badminton World Federation World Tour circuit.
Loh said: 'When I lost four match points and he caught up to 20-20, I was thinking 'Oh no, oh no, oh no, not again!'
'It was hard to stay calm, but I'm happy I managed to win in the end.'
Loh has been making a steady return to form since he won just five out of 15 matches after making it to the 2024 Paris Olympics quarter-finals.
In March 2025, he reached the German Open final and lost to Denmark's Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen. He then made it to the All England Open quarter-finals later that month and finished joint-third at the Badminton Asia Championships in April.
National singles head coach Kim Ji-hyun said: 'Kean Yew's performance this tournament was up and down like a nerve-racking roller-coaster ride. But it's much better than before, especially when he showed improvement in making the right shots at the right time, and in his net control.
'His positive attitude and the consistency with his stroke execution, which we spent so much time to hone, are the keys to his success. This is only a Super 300 win, and there is still a long way to go, but we will get there step by step.'
She added that a training camp in China's Jiangxi province where Loh trained with retired Chinese player Zhao Junpeng, the 2022 world championships bronze medallist, also helped.
Kim said: 'In Singapore, with a limited pool of players in the national team, it is difficult to maintain a high intensity of training for our top-tier players that includes quality matchplay which simulates actual competition conditions.
'The overseas training camps allow our players to learn different playing styles, and also to adapt and respond effectively to these styles in competition. Even though the intensity and the volume of training has been high, our players are doing great. I hope they will perform well in the tournaments ahead.'
Elsewhere, Japan's Tomoka Miyazaki became the women's singles gold medallist after defeating Thailand qualifier Pitchamon Opatniputh 21-12, 20-22, 21-14 in the battle of two 18-year-old former world junior champions.
There were reasons for the home crowd to cheer at the Taipei Arena when Hsieh Pei-shan and Hung En-tzu beat Japan's Mizuki Otake and Miyu Takahashi 21-14, 21-15 for the women's doubles title, before Chiu Hsiang-chieh and Wang Chi-lin beat South Korea's Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju 21-18, 21-15 in the men's doubles final.
In the all-Indonesian mixed doubles final, Jafar Hidayatullah and Felisha Pasaribu beat Dejan Ferdinansyah and Siti Ramadhanti 18-21, 21-13, 21-17.
Loh, along with Singapore's other top players, will next focus on the May 13-18 Thailand Open (Super 500), before the May 20-25 Malaysia Masters (Super 500), May 27-June 1 KFF Singapore Open (Super 750) and June 3-8 Indonesia Open (Super 1000).
Women's singles world No. 13 Yeo Jia Min is set to return from a right calf injury to compete at the Thailand Open, with men's singles world No. 23 Jason Teh also joining the fray after sitting out the Taipei Open.
The 27th-ranked mixed doubles pair Terry Hee and Jin Yujia will also feature in the Thai capital.
David Lee is senior sports correspondent at The Straits Times focusing on aquatics, badminton, basketball, cue sports, football and table tennis.
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Saiyidah Aisyah wins the Republic's first individual rowing gold medallist in the women's lightweight single sculls 2,000m, while Nicole Tan becomes the first local to win the women's individual 25m air pistol rapid fire event after being the last to qualify for the semi-finals . 45. 2014 The Singapore Sports Hub, comprising the 55,000-capacity National Stadium, OCBC Aquatic Centre and the OCBC Arena, opens its doors to the public. The project was mooted by then Community Development and Sports minister Abdullah Tarmugi in 2001 to replace the ageing National Stadium. The first event held there is the World Club 10s rugby tournament in June 2014. The venue is officially opened by then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in July 2015. 46. June 2014 Teenager Martina Veloso wins the air rifle gold at the ISSF World Cup in Germany. The 14-year-old beats 2008 Olympic champion Katerina Emmons (Czech Republic) and 2010 European champion Andrea Arsovic (Serbia) to become the youngest shooter at the meet to clinch a title. A silver medallist at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games, she goes on to claim two golds at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the 10m air rifle and 50m air rifle prone. Fireworks from the 28th SEA Games Opening Ceremony taken from the rooftop of The Concourse on June 5, 2015. PHOTO: ST FILE 47. June 2015 Singapore hosts the SEA Games for a fourth time after a 22-year absence. The Games coincide with the nation's SG50 birthday celebrations, with the newly opened Sports Hub hosting the opening and closing ceremonies. Team Singapore finish second in the medal tally behind Thailand, with 84 golds, 73 silvers and 102 bronzes, with Joseph Schooling's nine golds among the highlights of the Games. Joseph Schooling of Singapore reacting after winning the Rio 2016 Olympic Games men's 100m butterfly final at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug 12, 2016. PHOTO: ST FILE 48. Aug 12, 2016 Joseph Schooling delivers Singapore's first Olympic gold in the 100m butterfly final in a Games record-time 50.39sec in Rio de Janeiro, beating American legend Michael Phelps, Hungary's Laszlo Cseh and South Africa's Chad le Clos – the trio clock 51.14sec to share second place. Schooling says: 'It's been a tough road, I'm not going to lie. The first guy through the wall is always bloody. I had to take that blow.' 49. August 2017 Singapore's water polo kingpins claim their 27th consecutive gold medal in Kuala Lumpur after finishing top in the round-robin competition. While their winning streak ends in 2019 in the Philippines with Indonesia stealing their crown, the Singaporeans finally return to the top in Cambodia in 2023. 50. November 2017 Tay Wei Ming becomes Singapore's first para-badminton world champion. Along with partner Indonesian Suryo Nugroho, they clinch a shock victory at the world championships in the men's doubles SU5 final. They beat Malaysian top seeds Cheah Liek Hou and Hairol Fozi Saaba 18-21, 23-21, 21-18 in Ulsan, South Korea. 51. 2019 Six is the lucky number for England-born Peter Gilchrist as he claims his sixth world title after beating India's Sourav Kothari 1,307-967 in the World Billiards Championship final in Melbourne in October. Two months later, he beats Myanmar's Nay Thway Oo 3-0 in the final in the Philippines for his sixth straight SEA Games gold. 52. June 2019 In her maiden World Archery Para Championships in the Netherlands, Syahidah Alim defeats 2016 Paralympic champion Jessica Stretton to become Singapore's first world champion in the sport. 53. September 2021 Para-swimmer Yip Pin Xiu retains her Paralympics women's S2 50m and 100m backstroke titles at Tokyo 2020 and gains a bigger victory for the para-sport community. Following a spirited public debate over the disparity in cash incentives, DBS Bank comes on board as a sponsor of the Athletes Achievement Awards to match the Tote Board's commitment until 2024. As a result, the AAA reward for a Paralympic gold that was worth $200,000 is doubled. 54. October 2021 Aloysius Yapp becomes the first Singaporean to reach world No. 1 in pool following strong finishes in the United States – third at the World 10-ball Championship in Las Vegas , second at the US Open 9-ball Championship in Atlantic City , before the Michigan Open win. 55. December 2021 Against the odds, and on one good ankle, the 22nd-ranked Loh Kean Yew becomes Singapore's first badminton world champion with a 21-15, 22-20 win over India's world No. 14 Srikanth Kidambi in the BWF World Championships men's singles final. Loh says: 'I grew up watching Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei playing such big finals and it's unbelievable I also became a world champion.' 56. July 2023 Shanti Pereira becomes Asia's fastest woman and completes a remarkable 100m and 200m double at the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok. Pereira says: 'I just want my story to inspire as many people as possible. When you put your mind to it and not care about what other people think, just do you, you can do it.' 57. February 2024 Shannon Tan, 19, gets a dream debut in the Ladies European Tour when she triumphs at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open to become the first Singaporean golfer to win on the tour. She says: 'I hope this inspires junior golfers in Singapore. I want to see golf grow in Singapore. It would be great to see the sport you love grow bigger and bigger.' Singaporean kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder after race 3 of the Paris 2024 Olympics men's kite final at the Marseille Marina on Aug 9, 2024. PHOTO: ST FILE 58. Aug 9, 2024 Maximilian Maeder wins a kitefoiling bronze at the Paris Olympics on National Day in a year when he is also crowned world, European and Asian champion. At 17, he is also Singapore's youngest Olympic medallist. He says: 'To be able to put a smile on people's faces with my own effort through sport, and to see it come true lights a fire in me to try and continue and repeat it again.' French swimmer Leon Marchand competing in the men's 400m Individual Medley at the World Aquatics Championships at the World Aquatics Championships Arena on Aug 3, 2025. PHOTO: ST FILE 59. November 2024 Singapore hosts the World Chess Championship for the first time , marking the second time the event is held in South-east Asia after the Philippines staged it in 1978 . India's Gukesh Dommaraju defeats China's defending champion Ding Liren 7.5-6.5 in the best-of-14 match to be crowned the youngest world champion. 60. July 2025 Singapore is the first South-east Asian country to host the World Aquatics Championships, stepping in as a replacement for Kazan after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Despite initial concerns, about 140,000 spectators watch nearly 2,500 athletes from 206 nations and territories compete in water polo, open water swimming, artistic swimming, high diving, diving and swimming at the purpose-built 4,800-seater WCH Arena, OCBC Aquatic Centre and Sentosa.
