Loh Kean Yew qualifies for India Open quarters after beating Denmark’s Hans-Kristian Vittinghus
Singapore’s world No. 7 Loh Kean Yew advanced into the India Open quarter-finals after defeating Denmark’s Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 21-18, 21-17 in the round of 16 on Thursday.
It was a tight first game between Loh and world No. 34 Vittinghus at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi but, with the score tied at 9-9, the Singaporean pulled ahead to lead 15-11.
Vittinghus fought back to draw level again at 15-15, but Loh reclaimed the lead to make it 17-16 and took the first game 21-18 when Danish veteran’s shot went wide.
Loh raced into a 3-0 lead in the second game but Vittinghus fought back. Both players took turns to lead in another closely contested affair, which did not see either player gain an advantage of more than two points.
That was until the Loh made it 20-17 when his 37-year-old opponent’s attempted interception hit the net. Loh then made no mistake to seal the win and book his spot in the last eight.
The former world champion could face either Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn or Denmark’s Anders Antonsen in the quarter-finals.
The 25-year-old’s last four meetings against Kunlavut have ended in the Thai’s favour with his most recent win over the Singaporean coming at last week’s Malaysia Open quarter-finals.
Loh last played Anders Antonsen, who is ranked 26th in the world, at the 2021 world championships and won 23-21, 21-14.
This is the seventh straight Badminton World Federation tournament in which Loh has reached the quarter-finals at least.
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