Loh Outraged in Paris

Ousted Singaporean voices frustration on Instagram over contentious call by umpire

- David Lee

Frustrated after missing out on a Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships medal, Singapore's Loh Kean Yew took to Instagram to vent his exasperation over a controversial umpire call that cost him a point in his shock 22-20, 21-18 loss to Canada's Victor Lai in their men's singles quarter-final on Aug 29.

The moment of contention came at the end of a 27-shot rally in the second game. Pouncing on a net shot, world No. 50 Lai's momentum sent him tumbling into Loh's half of the court under the net.

While Loh's return went wide to make it 9-5 to his opponent, the world No. 9 felt he should have been awarded the point as Lai had faulted. The 28-year-old took almost two minutes to remonstrate animatedly with Kiwi umpire Kelvin Tsui, who felt that Lai's movement "did not actually block him (Loh) from making the shot".

Loh told The Straits Times: "I would be lying if I said I'm not feeling any anger now, but I'm more frustrated about what happened.

"It's an obvious distraction when I still have a shot to play and can see that he has encroached into my area of play."

Loh was clearly still seething after his 47-minute match, as he uncharacteristically lashed out on social media.