BWF Singapore Open 2024: Loh Kean Yew and Carolina Marin eliminated
Singaporean badminton star Loh Kean Yew's run was ended at BWF Singapore Open 2024 with a valiant quarter-final loss to Li Shi Feng on Friday (31 May).
Seemingly showing no signs of fatigue from yesterday's thrilling three-set win, Loh, who has failed to deliver in major competitions since winning the 2021 World Championships, started the match at blistering pace and looked set to take the opening game.
But People's Republic of China shuttler Li showed his experience to stay in touch, before silencing the passionate home crowd with some accurate placing shots at the decisive moment to go one set up.
Loh battled hard to get back into the match and took an early second game lead, but his six-seeded opponent was once again able to absorb the pressure and level the scores, before closing out the fixture 21-19, 21-16.
Li next faces Olympic champion and top seed Viktor Axelsen in the final four.
Axelsen through, Marin out
In the women's singles, there was a major upset with Rio 2016 Olympic champion Carolina Marín going down to unseeded Pornpawee Chochuwong.
Both players won 77 points during the match, but it was the Thai player that was able to land the killer blow when it mattered most.
Chochuwong's superb variation seemed to unsettle the third seed, who struggled for rhythm, before bowing out with a 21-19, 21-16 loss.
Top seeded An Se Young made short work of Japan's Okuhara Nozomi, wrapping up their quarter-final match 21-12, 21-12.
The Republic of Korea star's prize is a semi-final against Indonesia's Tunjung Gregoria Mariska, who upset Chinese seventh seed Wang Zhi Yi with a 21-13, 13-21, 24-22 victory.
There was better news for China on the other side of the draw, where second see Chen Yu Fei defeated Japan's Yamaguchi Akane 21-8, 21-12 to set up a semi-final clash with Chochuwong.
Elsewhere in the men's singles, top seed and reigning Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen looked back to his best, sealing his place in the final four with a dominant 21-12, 21-11 win over Malaysia's Leong Jun Hao.
A day after surviving his own three-set match, the Dane attacked from the off, relinquishing the lead only once in the match as he bamboozled his opponent with a mix of drop shots and overhead smashes and taking the match in just 41 minutes.
Axelsen will meet Li next, while the other men's singles semi-final will see Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei take on Chinese second seed Shi Yu Qi, who defeated Nishimoto Kenta and Narakoka Kodai - both of Japan - respectively.