Singapore's Loh Kean Yew falls to Jonatan Christie, exits India Open

SINGAPORE: Loh Kean Yew’s quest to win his first India Open title ended on Saturday (Jan 17) after he fell to world number 4 Jonatan Christie in the men’s singles semi-finals.

At the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Delhi, the Singaporean eighth seed lost 18-21, 20-22 to the Indonesian third seed. 

Loh is now winless against Christie in nine career meetings.

The Singaporean raced to a 13-5 lead in the first game, but Christie demonstrated his mettle to level things at 16-16.

In the second, it was Loh who once again was off to a better start and had a slender two-point lead going into the interval. 

But his opponent seized the initiative at 13-13 and held on despite a late comeback from the former world champion.

Christie will face either Lin Chun Yi or Victor Lai in the final on Sunday. 

The Indonesian has been in good form to start the year, having made the final four of the Malaysian Open earlier this month.

It has been a long tournament for Loh, with all three of his matches going to three games. 

In the quarter-finals, the Singaporean registered his first victory over Thailand's world number 2 Kunlavut Vitidsarn since 2015.

In contrast, Christie has won all his matches in straight games. Prior to his meeting with Loh, he eliminated BWF World Tour Finals winner Christo Popov.

Loh made the final of the India Open 2022, but lost to home favorite Lakshya Sen.