Loh Kean Yew beats Spain's Abian, moves into second round of BWF World Championships

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Loh Kean Yew cruised into the second round of the BWF World Championships after a victory over Spain's Pablo Abian on Monday (Aug 21).

In Copenhagen, Denmark, the world number 7 beat world-ranked 85 Abian 21-12, 21-9 in 28 minutes to book a clash with Ade Resky Dwicahyo.

This is Loh's third career win over Abian, having also beaten him at last year's tournament. The 26-year-old Singaporean was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn in 2022.

Loh clinched the world title in 2021, after going on the fairytale run which saw him upset a number of higher-ranked players, including Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen. 

Loh, who is the seventh seed this year, was drawn in the top half of the tournament, and could potentially face top seed and defending champion Axelsen in the quarter-finals.

Singapore's other representative in the men's singles Jason Teh will face Czech Republic's Jan Louda later in the day.

In the women's singles, Singapore's Yeo Jia Min also progressed to the second round of the tournament after a walkover. She will next face Indonesia's eighth seed Gregoria Mariska Tunjung.