Loh Kean Yew bags historic Asian Games silver after defeat by world No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn

NAGOYA – History was made, even if it did not end in a golden hue, as Singapore’s 13th-ranked Loh Kean Yew lost 21-12, 21-16 to Thailand’s world No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the Asian Games badminton men’s singles final on Sept 29.

Nevertheless, Loh can take pride in being the first Singaporean to reach an Asiad badminton final. The only other time Singapore won a badminton medal at the continental meet was in 2006, when the women’s team earned a bronze.

The clash between Loh and Kunlavut was also the first men’s singles final at the Asiad with neither China nor Indonesia represented. Since the event was introduced in 1962, these powerhouses had previously swept the men’s singles titles except in 1970 when Malaysia’s Punch Gunalan prevailed.

Now, Kunlavut has helped Thailand become only the fourth nation to win this event in 17 editions. His unbeaten campaign ended with eight straight victories across two events as he also helped his country secure a men’s team bronze.

Before the Games, Kunlavut said he had wanted to meet Loh in the final as they are good friends and training partners who will hang out and share a meal when they are in each other’s countries.

The Thai also showed his familiarity with his opponent’s game as he took his superior head-to-head record against the Singaporean to 9-2.

But Loh will be encouraged by how he reached the final after overcoming India’s world No. 14 Lakshya Sen, Malaysia’s 48th-ranked Justin Hoh, Indonesia’s world No. 1 and 2018 champion Jonatan Christie and South Korea’s 46th-ranked Yoo Tae-bin, based on the previous week’s rankings.

With the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings updated on Tuesdays, it meant Loh had the unique situation of playing two top-ranked players in the same event.

His breakthrough silver adds to creditable performances in major competitions such as his historic 2021 world championship win, a silver (2023) and bronze (2025) at the Asia Championships, two silvers (2019 and 2022) and one bronze (2015) at the SEA Games and an Olympic quarter-final appearance (2024).

At his Asiad debut in China three years ago, he went home after losing at the first hurdles of both the men’s singles and team events.

It has been a roller-coaster 2026 season that saw him reach two semi-finals in January and the KFF Singapore Open final in May on the BWF World Tour.

An abdominal injury in June stalled his momentum and he failed to progress past the last 16 in the next five tournaments as his world ranking slipped to 13th.

But showing maturity in his game play, fantastic fighting spirit and a good dose of fun with his manga-inspired celebrations all week, Loh overcame his inconsistencies, as well as bogeyman Christie, who had previously beaten him 10 times in a row, to rise to the podium again.

Earlier in the day, South Korea’s world No. 1 An Se-young continued her unstoppable run to retain her women’s singles gold by defeating Japan’s third-ranked Akane Yamaguchi 21-17, 21-9 for her eighth title of the year.

After registering a mind-boggling 56th win in 57 matches – 49 of them in straight games – in 2026, the 24-year-old let out a piercing yell and formed a heart shape with her arms above her head, before pointing at Yamaguchi to beckon the crowd to salute their home favourite.

South Korea picked up another badminton gold when world No. 2 and 2023 silver medallists Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na outlasted China’s top-ranked Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning to complete an epic 26-28, 21-18, 21-18 comeback in a marathon women’s doubles final that lasted just nine minutes short of two hours. 

Indonesia’s 43rd-ranked Leo Carnando and Daniel Marthin then came back to upset China’s world No. 3 Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang 19-21, 21-13, 21-18 for their first Asiad men’s doubles title.

Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin saved China’s blushes and kept their nation’s streak of at least one badminton gold at every Asian Games since 1998 when the third-ranked pair cruised past Indonesia’s 17th-ranked Amri Syahnawi and Nita Marwah 21-19, 21-8 for the mixed doubles title.

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David Lee is senior sports correspondent at The Straits Times, focusing on aquatics, badminton, basketball, cue sports, football and table tennis.