Latest news with #ChristoPopov
CNA
3 days ago
- General
- CNA
Badminton: Loh Kean Yew loses to France's Christo Popov in Singapore Open quarter-finals
SINGAPORE: Loh Kean Yew's run at the Singapore Open ended on Friday (May 30) as he lost in an upset to France's Christo Popov in the men's singles quarter-finals. The world number 23 Popov took the match 21-10, 21-14 to advance to the last four, where he will face China's Lu Guangzu. The victory means that Popov has now won three of the six meetings against Loh. He had also beaten Loh at the 2023 edition of the tournament in the round of 16. Up against his third consecutive French opponent, world number 10 Loh struggled to find any rhythm in the first game and went behind 8-11 at the interval. Loh had beaten Popov's older brother and doubles partner Toma the day before, but he simply had no answer to the younger Popov, who never relinquished his lead. While Loh took an early lead in the second game, his opponent took control just before the interval and saw the game out to silence the home crowd. Loh was the only Singaporean representative left in the competition after compatriot Yeo Jia Min was eliiminated by world number 1 An Se-young in the round of 16 on Thursday.
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Loh Kean Yew through to Singapore Open quarter-finals after late comeback
Loh Kean Yew will meet Christo Popov in the Singapore Open quarter-finals on May 30. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO SINGAPORE – Fighting back from a five-point deficit in his decider, Singapore's Loh Kean Yew kept local hopes up as he staged a late rally to prevail 21-12, 14-21, 21-18 against 16th-ranked Toma Junior Popov of France in their men's singles last-16 match at the US$1 million (S$1.29 million) KFF Singapore Open on May 29. The world No. 10 had already overcome one Frenchman in ninth-ranked Alex Lanier in the opening round, and will meet another one in the May 30 quarter-finals when he takes on world No. 23 Christo Popov, who is Toma Junior's younger brother. Earlier in the day, 15th-ranked Lu Guangzu of China stunned his compatriot, world No. 1 and defending men's singles champion Shi Yuqi, 17-21, 21-13, 26-24. He saved two match-points and required six of his own to seal a quarter-final against Japan's world No. 7 Kodai Naraoka. Meanwhile, China's world No. 4 Li Shifeng was eliminated 21-18, 21-14 by 19th-ranked Lin Chun-yi of Chinese Taipei, while Indonesia's world No. 5 Jonatan Christie lost 21-16, 21-19 to Malaysia's 25th-ranked Leong Jun Hao. Leong will next face Thailand's world No. 2 Kunlavut Vitidsarn, the reigning world and Asian champion, who eased to a 21-8, 21-17 win over China's 33rd-ranked Wang Zhengxing. Meanwhile, Taiwanese world No. 6 Chou Tien-chen, a semi-finalist here in 2024, was also beaten 21-12, 21-16 by Hong Kong's 21st-ranked Lee Cheuk Yiu. There was also an upset in the women's singles, where Japanese starlet and world No. 8 Tomoka Miyazaki lost 21-17, 21-18 to Canada's 18th-ranked Michelle Li. Later in the day, Singapore's 11th-ranked Yeo Jia Min will take on South Korea's defending champion and world No. 1 An Se-young, who is also the reigning world and Olympic champion. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
