Paris 2024 badminton: Loh Kean Yew rolls past Li Shi Feng into last eight
There’s a good reason Loh Kean Yew was far from being in celebratory mood despite becoming only the second-ever Singaporean to reach the Olympic badminton quarter-finals on Thursday (1 August).
He faces defending men’s singles champion Viktor Axelsen next.
“I’m trying not to be overjoyed because the job's not done - it's still ongoing,” Loh said after beating Li Shi Feng of the People’s Republic of China 23-21, 21-16 in the round of 16 at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“Just keep trying to focus on the next match. just keep turning myself to focus and just keep trying to go for every shot.”
Loh Kean Yew smashed Li Shifeng en route to the men's singles quarter-finals where he will face defending champion Viktor Axelsen.
Loh Kean Yew: 'Pressure's on him'
Loh had to dig deep for the victory over the sixth-seeded Li, who was up by as many as four points in the first set and had game point, which Loh managed to save.
Loh opened up a nine-point lead in the second game and never looked back before setting up Friday’s mouth-watering clash against the Danish world No. 2, who had a bye in the last 16.
Loh is the first Singapore player to get this deep into the tournament since Ronald Susilo at Athens 2004. That is the best feat by a singles player from the country.
The 27-year-old is on the cusp of having his own chapter in history but Axelsen stands tall - literally and figuratively - before him. For his career, Loh is 2-8 against the Great Dane who is a friend of his.
However in 2021, Loh managed to figure out Axelsen to win the world championship, his first career major title. He admitted to having a “secret” plan for Axelsen, which the rest of the world will find out on Friday.
“I'm happy to achieve this fit but like I said, it's not finished yet,” Loh said. “I'll be playing against my good friend - but he won’t be on the court tomorrow.
“I’m really looking forward to the match because he had a great advantage today. He rested already.
“This is the Olympics so whatever it is, I'll just leave everything out there. I'm still the underdog. He's the Olympic champion.
“He definitely wants to defend it, right? Pressure’s on him, not me!”