Badminton: Loh Kean Yew moves up to 9th in the world rankings

SINGAPORE – Right after breaking into the top rated 10 of the men’s singles for the very first time, Singapore’s top rated shuttler, world champion Loh Kean Yew, is delighted but not glad.

In the newest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings introduced on Tuesday (Feb 22), he rose 3 spots to put ninth, many thanks to points attained from being portion of the Singapore workforce that claimed bronze at the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) in the previous week.

He is also the 10th Singaporean to crack a badminton major-10 listing due to the fact previous women’s singles star Zarinah Abdullah surged to environment No. 3 in 1994. The Republic’s best-rated men’s singles participant was Ronald Susilo, who was sixth in 2004.

The previous time any neighborhood shuttler designed the best 10 was when blended doubles duo Danny Bawa Chrisnanta and Vanessa Neo had been ranked ninth in 2013.

Loh explained to The Straits Occasions: “It feels great to get to the prime 10 as it’s always been a single of my plans. But now that I am listed here, I really don’t want to cease listed here.

“I want to realize additional. It truly is not likely to be effortless, and I you should not know what the long term lies, but of study course I want to gain as numerous matches and transfer as substantial up the rankings as achievable, and proceed to strengthen in every aspect of the video game. I want to surpass my personal boundaries and be superior than right before.”

The 24-year-aged has appreciated a excellent run of kind since heading on a one particular-thirty day period coaching stint with Denmark’s world No. 1 and Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, as effectively as other gamers in the best 60, across August and September.

Loh was rated 40th then, but went on to close a two-year title drought at the reduced-tier Dutch Open up in October, adopted that up with his initially BWF Globe Tour Tremendous 500 title at the Hylo Open up in Germany in November, and topped it off with a amazing World Championships triumph in Spain in December.

For a person who is applied to unleashing retrieving smashes that go more than 300 kmh and fly about the courtroom retrieving them, even he was shocked at how fast he has moved up the rankings.

He mentioned: “For guaranteed, this has took place more quickly than I expected. 1 instant, I was just fired up to be capable to participate in high-amount tournaments and challenging the major gamers, and now I am in the major 10.”

While it appears like he has carried on on the place he left off, reaching the Tremendous 500 India Open up ultimate in January and aiding Singapore earn a historic BATC medal this month, his specifications are set significantly better now, as he nitpicked his own the latest performances.

“In the course of these tournaments, I still don’t have ample regularity, which is what I am seeking to perform on. I had very good times and negative days… I want to attempt and make every single working day a very good working day,” stated Loh.