Asian Games: Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew and Yeo Jia Min Advance to Badminton Round of 16

The world No. 13 shuttler received a first-round bye before facing Sen, who sits just one spot behind him in the world rankings. Loh dropped behind 1-5 early in the opening game before stringing together 11 points to seize control at 12-5, ultimately closing out the first frame 21-12. Sen bounced back in a closely contested second game, taking it 21-15 to level the match. In the decider, Loh regained the initiative, weathering a brief charge from Sen—who closed the gap to 13-14—to secure the victory in 21-14 and advance to the round of 16.

Head-to-Head History and Previous Encounters

Saturday’s match marked Loh’s second victory over Sen. The two players last met in April at the Badminton Asia Team Championships, where Loh also rallied from a game down to win 2-1. Across 11 prior official meetings, Sen held a 7-4 edge, but Loh’s latest win narrows that margin to 5-7 in Sen’s favor.

Reflecting on his opening win—his first ever at the Asian Games after suffering a first-round exit in the men’s singles and an early team elimination against Japan at the previous Hangzhou Games—Loh noted the significance of competing on a multi-sport stage. Records show he said that whether at the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, or Southeast Asian Games, representing Singapore is a major honor, and winning on such a stage feels especially unique.

Busy Schedule and Singapore Team Context

With a condensed tournament schedule, Loh faced a quick turnaround, returning to the court on Saturday evening to square off against Malaysia’s Justin Hoh for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Unlike the previous Asian Games, where Singapore fielded a 13-player contingent thanks to a men’s team qualification, the national badminton squad in Nagoya features a leaner four-player roster. Alongside Loh, the contingent includes top women’s singles player Yeo Jia Min and the men’s doubles pair.

Yeo Jia Min Also Advances

Singapore’s top women’s singles player Yeo Jia Min also secured her place in the round of 16 on Saturday following a comfortable victory. Benefiting from a first-round bye, Yeo faced world No. 188 Abdul Fathimath of the Maldives in the 32nd round. After comfortably taking the opening game 21-9, Yeo encountered resistance in the second frame before breaking a 12-12 deadlock to pull away 21-13. Yeo advanced to face Thailand’s world No. 5 Ratchanok Intanon in the evening round of 16.

The next confirmed checkpoint for the Singaporean contingent centers on the afternoon and evening round-of-16 matches across the singles and doubles draws at the Ichinomiya venue.