BWF Madrid Spain Masters 2024: Swashbuckling Loh Kean Yew grounds Toma Junior Popov in final thriller
The Singaporean star withstood his French opponent's powerful smashes to take the men's singles title in Madrid, with Ratchanok Intanon winning an all-Thai women's final.
Badminton
Three words came to mind for Singapore's Loh Kean Yew as he fell to his knees to celebrate his gruelling men’s singles final triumph at the BWF Madrid Spain Masters 2024 on Sunday (31 March).
“Oh God, finally.”
That internal exclamation marked the finish of a three-game encounter with France’s Toma Junior Popov which saw Loh jump, skid and even splay out on the court, spurred on by the "The Pirates of the Caribbean" soundtrack blasting from the speakers at the Centro Deportivo Municipal Gallur.
The swashbuckling effort earned the 2021 badminton world champion his first title of the year, coming through 21-11, 15-21, 22-20 in 58 minutes of high-octane action.
“The [Olympic] qualification period has not ended and I'm quite happy that I managed to end off the Europe tour, a four-weeks long tour here, with a victory," Loh told Olympics.com. "Definitely happy.”
Loh took the first game 21-11 with a signature series of jumps and smashes which unsettled his opponent.
“Jumping up is more threating than not jumping, so I try to jump more if I can,” he explained after.
In the second game, however, Popov showed that he had plenty of drive to respond in kind.
Playing in his first final for two years, the Frenchman proved he was more than a worthy match for Loh who had eliminated his younger brother, and doubles partner, Christo Popov in the round of 16.
With family honour at stake, Popov's smashes carried plenty of power. The 1.96m-tall player regularly sent the shuttle flying faster than 400 km/h, clinching the second game with a smash which registered 467 km/h.
“His smashing has always been very strong so it’s not easy to defend against him," Loh said. “The first game usually people can’t follow the speed, but second game, they are more used to it so there’s some strategy changes and I didn’t adapt fast enough.”
Loh did manage to adapt in the third game as he took an 11-7 lead into the mid-game interval.
Back came Popov who won five consecutive points to lead 19-18 in a thrilling climax. But Loh took the next two points before converting his second match point.
Ratchanok Intanon regains confidence after lacklustre post-injury comeback
Later in the day, Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon took the women’s singles final against compatriot Supanida Katethong.
The 29-year-old needed just 30 minutes to win 21-12, 21-9 and secure her first title since the Malaysia Open in July 2022.
It was a welcome confidence boost for Intanon who took time off after injuring her ankle last October. The 2013 world champion had struggled since, dropping from seven to 14 in the world rankings after first-round exits in her last three tournaments.
"I feel like I was ready to give up last week because I lost in the first round and I felt like, 'Why I still cannot go up?'" Intanon told Olympics.com. "I wanted to be back faster. So, why? I already did my hard work. Why am I still not at the spot where I want to be?
"I feel more confident now. I don't think that I'm the best, but I just had good form from the beginning," she added. "I enjoy when I play badminton. Sometimes when you lose, you are afraid to go inside the court because you don't want to lose anymore. But for me, I'm happy that I still listened to my thinking and I decided to come back."
Find all the results from the day's action here.
The latter stages of the tournament were streamed live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Paris 2024 Olympics app (territorial restrictions may apply). Check the page to re-watch the action.
BWF Madrid Spain Masters 2024 finals results, 31 March 2024
Mixed doubles: [6] Rinov Rinaldy/Pitha Haningtyas Mentari (INA) def. Cheng Xing/Zhang Chi (CHN) 17-21, 21-12, 21-13.
Women's doubles: Iwanaga Rin/Nakanishi Kie (JPN) def. [2] Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma/Amallia Cahaya Pratiwi (INA) 12-21, 21-8, 21-16.
Men's singles: [2] Loh Kean Yew (SGP) def. Toma Junior Popov (FRA) 21-11, 15-21, 22-20.
Women's singles: [4] Ratchanok Intanon (THA) def. [6] Supanida Katethong (THA) 21-12, 21-9.
Men's doubles: Sabar Karyaman Gutama/Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani (INA) def. Junaidi Arif/Roy King Yap (MAS**)** 21-18, 17-21, 21-19.