HIS STORY DOES NOT REPEAT ITSELF

Loh ends 8-match hoodoo against nemesis Kunlavut, faces another 0-8 rival in Christie

- David Lee Senior Sports Correspondent

Yew en route to beating second-ranked Kunlavut Vitidsarn 14-21, 21-15, 21-17 in the India Open quarter-finals at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi on Jan 16. It ended his eight-match losing streak against the Thai.

(PHOTO: EPA)

With a comeback win over his good friend and nemesis Kunlavut Vitidsarn, Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew not only ended an eight-match losing run against the Thai, but also reached his first Super 750 semifinal since 2023.

The Republic’s world No. 10 beat the second-ranked Thai 14-21, 21-15, 21-17 in the India Open quarterfinals on Jan 16 to narrow his head-to-head record against Kunlavut to 2-8.

His reward is a semifinal berth in the US$950,000 (S$1.2 million) tournament against another player who has his number — Indonesia’s world No. 4 Jonatan Christie, who has won all eight of their previous encounters.

That included the 2023 French Open semifinals, which was Loh’s last appearance in the last four of a Super 750 event on the Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) World Tour.