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 Sunday (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.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.