Singapore's Loh Kean Yew loses second match at badminton World Tour Finals

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Loh Kean Yew lost his second match of the season-ending Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals in Bangkok on Thursday (Dec 8). 

Loh was defeated by Indonesia's Jonatan Christie 21-16, 20-22, 10-21 in their Group B match.

He had never beaten Christie in five previous encounters, with the duo last meeting at the Badminton Asia Championships in April before their Bangkok clash.

Christie came back from a set down to win the second and third sets, in a match that lasted slightly more than an hour.

Loh previously took 42 minutes to beat Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien-chen 21-15, 21-17 in his first Group B match on Wednesday.

The 2021 world champion will next face Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting on Friday. Ginting defeated Chou 21-14, 12-21, 21-19 in their earlier Group B match on Thursday. 

Loh is currently third in his group.

In Group A, world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen and Japan's Kodai Naraoka both won their first matches respectively on Wednesday. 

The top two from each group will proceed to the semi-finals, with Loh now needing to beat Ginting to make the last four. 

The 25-year-old has a chance to reach a career-high world number 2 depending on his results at the final tournament of the year. 

The draw for the semi-finals will take place on Friday after the conclusion of the final group matches.

World No. 3 Loh is the first Singaporean man to qualify for the prestigious tournament, which runs until Dec 11.

The World Tour Finals, which has a total prize money of US$1.5 million, features the current top-eight players in the singles and doubles categories.