Loh Kean Yew loses marathon q-final to Christo Popov at Hong Kong Open

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Singapores Loh Kean Yew lost 21-18, 9-21, 29-27 to Frenchman Christo Popov in the Hong Kong Open mens singles quarter-final.

PHOTO: BADMINTONPHOTO

Summary

• Christo Popov beat Loh Kean Yew in the Hong Kong Open mens singles quarter-final, winning 21-18, 9-21, 29-27 after a marathon final game.
• Loh lost despite winning a 48-shot rally and hitting a 442kph smash, with unforced errors proving costly in the first game.
• Singapore badminton singles head coach Kim Ji-hyun noted Loh needs more variation, as Popov neutralised his smashes; they will work on drop shots and fitness.

AI generated

SINGAPORE – In a badminton match that first resembled a round of chess and ended like a marathon, Frenchman Christo Popov prevailed to beat Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew 21-18, 9-21, 29-27 in the Hong Kong Open men’s singles quarter-finals on Sept 12.

After taking a 4-3 lead in their head-to-head record, the world No. 10 Popov advances to the Sept 13 semi-finals of the US$500,000 (S$642,000) event, where he will meet China’s fourth-ranked Li Shifeng while Loh exits with US$3,000 in prize money.

The other semi-final will pit India’s world No. 20 Lakshya Sen against sixth-ranked Taiwanese Chou Tien-chen.

Loh, who will play at the Sept 16-21 China Masters next, was left disappointed as the third game could have gone either way.

He told The Straits Times: “At such a crucial stage, it was anyone’s game, and of course it’s disappointing to lose after coming so close to winning.

“I’ll have to get over this as