Badminton World Championships 2022: How to watch Loh Kean Yew live in action

All eyes will certainly be on reigning badminton world champion Loh Kean Yew as he heads to Tokyo to defend his title from 22-28 August.

The Singaporean became the first men's single's player to clinch the title when he triumphed in Huelva in December last year. But since then, the 25-year-old has struggled to repeat his title winning form, both on the World Tour circuit as well as various multi-sport events.

Loh has yet to win a tournament, coming as close as making the finals of the India Open in January but was defeated by home talent, Lakshya Sen.

He then suffered some first-round shock defeats at the German and All England Open events this year, before regaining some of his form to get as far as the semi-finals of the Indonesia Masters. He was narrowly defeated by Chou Tien Chen and again by Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia the following week in the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Open.

After another first-round exit at the Malaysia Open, Loh raised his game on home soil at the Singapore Open. But his fine run ended in the semi-finals when he was defeated by Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.

Loh's quest for an individual title at a multi-sport event has also fallen short two times this year. He was one win shy of clinching top honours at the South-East Asian Games in Hanoi, but was denied by Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn. At the recently concluded Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Loh suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Malaysia's Ng Tze Yong who is ranked 42nd in the world. Prior to that, he did manage a bronze medal in the mixed team event, a first for Singapore.

Loh will nonetheless arrive in Japan as the man to beat, and has proven as he did in Huelva last year, that he is very capable of defeating any player on the other side of the net when playing to his potential.

READ MORE: How learning from an Olympic champion helped Loh Kean Yew to world domination

Loh's road to the final will need him to be at his best

Loh Kean Yew has been seeded eighth for his title defense in Japan and will open his campaign against Spanish veteran Pablo Albian who is ranked 59 in the world.

Barring an upset, the Singaporean should make it to the third round where he could likely face Hong Kong's Angus Ng Ka Long. From the quarter-finals onwards, it's anyone's guess as to who will shine in Tokyo, but his likely opponents could be either third seed Anders Antonsen from Denmark or an opportunity to avenge his SEA Games defeat against Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn.

Should Loh prevail then there are a few players who could be on the other side of the net for his semi-finals match, including Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia or even second seed Momota Kento.

Should Loh find the form that saw him clinch his title in Huelva and makes it to the final, if the form book stays true, then he could face-off against the reigning Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, whom he knocked out in the opening round enroute to the title in Huelva.

So looking at the draw, the one thing for sure is that Loh Kean Yew will need to be at his very best, should he have any hopes of defending this title against a very competitive field.

READ MORE: Loh Kean Yew becomes Singapore’s first badminton world champion

Badminton World Championships 2022 : How to watch live in Singapore

Singapore sports fans will be able to catch Loh Kean Yew in action at the BWF World Championships 2022 on subscription channel SPOTV which is available on either Starhub or Singtel.

Singaporeans can also download the SPOTV NOW app and subscribe to catch all the action from the world championships in Japan.

And if you are unable to find a screen to watch the matches, look out for Olympics.com's daily live blog from Tokyo.