Loh Ousts Teh On Mental Strength

World No. 15 to face Takahashi in German Open semi-finals, Yeo also makes last four

- David Lee

The much-anticipated clash between Singapore's top men's singles players at the German Open ended without much drama on Feb 28, as world No. 15 Loh Kean Yew beat 26th-ranked Jason Teh 21-10, 21-14 in 35 minutes.

Loh will take on Japan's 44th-ranked Koo Takahashi on March 1 for a place in the final of the US$240,000 (S$324,000) Super 300 event at the Westenergie Sporthalle in Mulheim. Meanwhile, Teh collected US$1,440 and will next feature at the March 4-9 Orleans Masters in France.

The other semi-final will feature 18th-ranked Frenchman Toma Junior Popov and the winner of the tie between Denmark's world No. 4 and two-time Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen and Hong Kong's Jason Gunawan (No. 42).

Loh told The Straits Times: "It's tough playing against a teammate, as we train with each other almost every day and know each other's game well. I was lucky today with a few net rolls and glad to make the semi-finals, which I'm going to focus on."

There were interesting subplots before the quarter-final between the Singaporean power hitters - the first international encounter between the duo - which was reminiscent of the battles between former national players Ronald Susilo and Kendrick Lee in 2006 and 2007.