BWF World Championships 2023: Loh Kean Yew cruises into second round
The 2021 world champion will face face Azerbaijan's Indonesian-born shuttler Ade Resky Dwicanto in round two.
Badminton
2021 badminton world champion Loh Kean Yew has stormed into the second round of the BWF World Championships 2023 on Monday (21 August).
The star shuttler from Singapore, seeded seventh, needed only 28 minutes to defeat 38-year-old Pablo Abian 21-12, 21-9. It is the second straight year that Loh met the unseeded Spaniard in the opening round at the World Championships.
"I just focus on each point and each match, and hopefully I can just keep going like this," Loh told Olympics.com after his win.
Next up for 26-year-old Loh is Ade Resky Dwicanto who beat Justin Ma of the United States 21-14, 21-17.
So far, Loh has played an inconsistent season. The former world champion finished second at both the Asia Championships and Korea Open but has also suffered some first-round knockouts.
H.S. Prannoy of India will most likely be his opponent in the round of 16, if Loh gets past Dwicanto.
The 2023 BWF World Championships in Copenhagen will conclude on Sunday (27 August).