S'porean badminton ace Loh Kean Yew does cooking show: His mom's stir-fried pork & potatoes dish He loves his own cooking. Belmont Lay | February 24, 2022, 03:33 AM Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg Singaporean badminton ace Loh Kean Yew, 24, can hit a shuttlecock with force and precision, but did you know he can also cook? Well, sort of, because he did serve up something edible recently by demonstrating how to cook a Hokkien dish that his mother makes at home, as well as basic stir-fried veggies. The world number nine player demonstrated his cooking chops in an episode, "Loh Kean Yew Can Cook", uploaded to the BWF — Badminton World Federation Facebook page on Feb 23. What he did The 175cm boyish Penang-born shuttler, who subsequently settled in Singapore, appeared in the 5-minute video speaking candidly and making wisecracks while preparing the ingredients, tossing them together in the frying pan, and applying heat to turn them into something that looks palatable. via BWF Badminton World Federation Prep work At the start of the video, Loh said: "Welcome to Kean Yew's cooking class. Today's mission is not to burn down the kitchen. Okay, just kidding." He added: "Today I'm going to make a dish that is from my mother because I miss her home cooked food. It's called Huan Chu Char Bak." He said the dish, in English, basically translates to "potato with minced meat". Carrot, onions, minced meat, and potatoes, are used in Huan Chu Char Bak. He was also made to cut the veggies and garlic, for the other dish, to show he can use a knife. via BWF Badminton World Federation He explained that he took the chance during the pandemic lull to start cooking: "During circuit breaker I was cooking a little bit because I was bored and lazy to go out." Cooking technique scrutinised Loh's cooking involved using a lot of salt -- a hypertension warning. He acknowledged his love of sodium as he said while adding salt to his meat and potato dish: "Because I'm from Penang, so I may eat quite a bit of salt." "I have a heavier taste." via BWF Badminton World Federation He then used a dollop of oyster sauce plus more salt in only a handful of vegetables and carrots. via BWF Badminton World Federation via BWF Badminton World Federation Loved his own cooking That only encouraged Loh to show how much he loved his cooking when he had to taste test what he made. via BWF Badminton World Federation Roasted The BWF — Badminton World Federation video of Loh cooking was watched 64,000 times in six hours. Commenters were genuinely tickled by Loh's presentation and surprised to see him fronting a cooking segment by himself. Loh has hit the media circuit before doing interviews in English and Mandarin, but has not been profiled in this way off court. World number one, friend, mentor, and fellow competitor Viktor Axelsen was quick to roast Loh on Facebook in the video's comment section. He left a comment barely 40 minutes after the video was published. Loh hit back with a sassy response. Axelsen did have a point though: Loh's veggie cooking technique did appear suspect as he did not sauté the veggies enough before adding the oyster sauce and water. But what would we know, as that could be the secret to be world number nine.
Badminton: Singapore's Loh Kean Yew falls at first hurdle in German Open Loh Kean Yew will now prepare for the March 16-20 All England Open in Birmingham. PHOTO: BADMINTON ASIA David Lee PUBLISHED 4 HOURS AGO SINGAPORE - World No. 9 Loh Kean Yew opened his 2022 European campaign on a losing note, going down to Canada's 33rd-ranked Brian Yang 12-21, 21-16, 21-18 in the first round of the German Open in Mulheim on Wednesday (March 9). Both players are familiar with each other, having trained together alongside Denmark's Olympic champion and world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen in Dubai, and it made for a high-tempo and entertaining match at the Westenergie Sporthalle. The Singaporean world champion got off to a flying start, pulling off good smash and follow-up combinations to win 15 out of the last 18 points to take the opening game in just 13 minutes. However, 20-year-old Yang took control of the second game with a series of deceptive shots that forced a decider. Loh, 24, stepped up a gear and went on the offensive in the rubber game to lead 10-5, 15-11, and 18-16, but Yang kept coming back, forcing errors from his more illustrious opponent to record his first win over Loh in three attempts. Loh told The Straits times: “I played too slowly in the second game and he got more and more comfortable. Then, I wanted to win too much and got too impatient. “I need to constantly remind myself to stay calm and go point by point instead.” In Thursday's second round, Yang will play Japan's world No. 19 Kenta Nishimoto, who stunned his compatriot, world No. 2 and two-time world champion Kento Momota, 23-21, 21-9 at the US$180,000 (S$245,000) Badminton World Federation World Tour Super 300 event. Loh, on the other hand, cashes out for US$630 and will now prepare for the March 16-20 All England Open in Birmingham, where he faces Denmark's world No. 3 Anders Antonsen in the first round. He said: “I’m excited to participate in my first All England Open and I’ll do my best to train and prepare for it.” National singles coach Kelvin Ho shared that Loh will remain in Germany to spar with other players before flying to England on Sunday. He added: “Kean Yew was still doing okay in the first game because Brian was not ready yet. “But he started making too many unforced errors in the next two games against an opponent with good skills , which proved costly. “We will work on improving his fitness and speed ahead of next week’s All England Open.”
Good plan. Antonsen must have read my notes on how to beat lky. New plan needed for lky after this AE 2022. Q. How do I beat WC2021 Loh Kean Yew? A. This note was written not long after WC2021 wins. Lakshya Sen managed to beat LKY for the India Open 2022 after it was published. Again, someone or Lakshya Sen himself must have read this valuable tips before his 1st big India Open win. If you analyze his previous games, you can see their strengths. Being shorter than the europeans, they have the explosive speed and power. Most top players got about 350-400kmh smashing speed on average. Low center of gravity. For Loh Kean Yew, he is a beast as of his wins in wc2021, he plays at a super speed mode which I already mentioned earlier above about the importance SPEED. Speed is number one. He got a blistering speed. You notice he will quickly smash any half court or 3/4 high shots. And he will move forward to pounce on it. Opponent are always caught trying to match his speed. This is a big mistake and a big no no. (Stupidity). So, playing with this type of players, you will need to have a lot of patience again. You need to be able to bore him down and out. You need to slow down the pace as much as possible. I think you may be too young to watch the match between Prakash Padukone and Han Jian. Prakash grinds Han Jian down till he begs for mercy. Han Jian is known for his explosive speed, power and stamina. 15-0 is one of the game scoreline. This is not something which everyone can do. So, it will take months to train up for it. You will need to lift the shuttle very high up to slow down his pace and spoils his rythm. There is just no other way. Worry about stamina, it should not matter much at the highest level because you are also moving him around. Even Viktor or Momota or SYQ gets tired when playing rubber games. At a professional level, it is a basic requirement that you can do what is required of you. Else pack up and don't be a professional badminton player. His defence is awesome due to his speed, he can easily cross net the shuttle when you smash him. You can't penetrate his defence much. An alternative is you must not use brute force to smash. You can only use 80% of your full smashing power to go for accuracy to stretch him to the side to unbalance him and the rally with him again by not allowing him to smash. They counter attack very fast and you will need to lift the shuttle super high up to keep them at bay and slows them down. In Kitambi WC final match, he did just too many mistakes hitting the shuttle outside with brute force wasting his energy. Worst still he had 3 games in semis. Stupid of him and Lens to kill each other. lol Loh Kean Yew's netting is near perfection, and also it tumbles making it difficult to hit. He can also read when you are about to net the shot and then pounce on you quickly. So you can't play netting with him, unless you know that he is far away from the net. Or the alternative is to play the so called the placing of shuttles about 2 feet away from the net so that he can't do a net spin. The shuttles still need time to travel giving you the chance as the opponent to push him to the back. Or another way is to be deceptive, you need to trick him with double motions shots. Pretend as if you are netting and the push it to the back or cross court net. So, if you don't train up your skills and patience, you got zero chance of beating him, you can just hope that he had a bad day or not interested in the tournament and lets you win it. Let me know your thoughts or share your technical know how. I will update them accordingly. I should have wrote an analysis earlier in 2008 or 2012 on the GOAT Lindan. Then Lee Chong Wei would have won a major at least if he read my tips. Wakaka. Do share it. Good discussion points. If you are a coach and you are benefiting from these writeups, you can talk to youra ssociations to hire me or donate to me for giving you such an important tips to prepare your players to win big money. Viktor would be keen to read now. And Loh Kean Yew will also read this to try change his strategy. Wakaka. More nots.in beating Viktor and momota here. Lky needs plan B. extreme-power.org/contact.htm
Extremely agile and powerful player. I didn't expect this kind of development when he beat Lin Dan that day in Thailand, but he developed very well.
Badminton: World champion Loh Kean Yew exits All England in 1st round Singaporean shuttler Loh Kean Yew, pictured at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in February, lost 2-1 to Denmark's Anders Antonsen in the first round of the All England Championships on March 17. David Lee Published 17 Mar 2022, 3:30 am SGT Facebook Twitter SINGAPORE – He flashed a rueful smile after saving three match points, for he knew salvaging seven more was an improbable task against a top opponent. And so, world champion Loh Kean Yew’s first All England Open outing ended in the first round as he was beaten by Denmark’s world No. 3 Anders Antonsen 21-15, 18-21, 21-13 in 74 minutes at the Utilita Arena Birmingham on Wednesday (March 16). While they are both 24, Antonsen’s experience of playing in his sixth consecutive All England Open made a difference. The Dane was knocked out in the first round in his first three attempts, before he made it to the 2020 and 2021 semi-finals. He also learnt from losing to Loh in the semi-final of last year’s World Championships in their first encounter, and controlled the pace for most of the three-game thriller. They were neck and neck for the first half of the first game, with Antonsen holding a slender 11-9 lead at the interval, before they took turns to go on runs which ended in the Danish player’s favour. The Singaporean world No. 9 then stepped up a gear in the second game and attacked his opponent’s forehand corner more frequently to set up more attacking opportunities at the net. While it was similarly close with Antonsen leading 11-10, Loh forced him into making numerous errors, racing to a 20-15 lead before closing out the game. But Loh could not muster another upset as his shots in the decider were often too flat, allowing Antonsen to intercept mid-court. An 11-4 advantage swelled to 20-10, which proved insurmountable for the Singaporean. Loh exited the US$1 million (S$1.36 million) Badminton World Federation World Tour Super 1000 tournament with a cheque for US$990 and will now turn his attention to the March 22-27 Swiss Open, a Super 300 event, where he faces Dutch world No. 25 Mark Caljouw in the first round. The world champion has had an up-and-down start to the year as he made the India Open final in January and helped Singapore win a historic bronze at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in February, before losing in the first round of the German Open on March 9.
S'porean shuttler Loh Kean Yew withdraws from Swiss Open after contracting Covid-19 Get well soon. Ashley Tan | March 22, 2022, 12:34 PM Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg Singaporean shuttler Loh Kean Yew has contracted Covid-19, and will not be participating in the 2022 Swiss Open. The 2022 Swiss Open takes place today (Mar. 22) at Basel, Switzerland. Has mild symptoms The Singapore Badminton Federation (SBF) told Lianhe Zaobao that the 24-year-old has withdrawn from the tournament. Loh had tested positive for Covid-19 last Friday (Mar. 18) and is therefore unable to participate in the competition or return to Singapore immediately. The SBF spokesperson also informed that Loh is experiencing mild symptoms, and will wait until he tests negative before flying back to Singapore. Loh, who is currently World No. 9, was originally going to face Netherlands' World No. 25, Mark Caljouw. Caljouw has also withdrawn from the Swiss Open due to personal reasons. Previous competition was the All England Open Loh most recently participated in the All England Open in Birmingham, but was eliminated after losing to Denmark's World No. 3 Anders Antonsen on Mar. 16. After a 74-minute game, Loh, 24, was beaten 21-15, 18-21 and 21-13. That was Loh's first appearance at the All-England Open, and his second time facing Antonsen on court. Despite the outcome, Loh shared in a post late on Mar. 17 that he "gave it his all", and was satisfied with how he played. Overall, I am satisfied with how I played but there’s still room for improvement. The better player deserves the win, congratulations to Anders (Antonsen)."
For Loh Kean Yew, 'it's all about the hunger' Loh Kean Yew has displayed this drive and determination from a young age. PHOTO: HARPER'S BAZAAR SINGAPORE Jeffrey Yan PUBLISHED MAR 24, 2022, 11:00 AM SGT Last December, Loh Kean Yew made history as the first Singaporean to win a Badminton World Federation World Championships title. The 24-year-old pulled off major upsets and stunned the sporting community by beating world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen and world No. 3 Anders Antonsen, before besting world No. 14 Kidambi Srikanth in the finals to clinch the gold. A lesser player might have caved in in the face of that pressure, but Loh was unfazed. In fact, he relishes going up against the world's best and brightest. "I like to play as an underdog," he says. "The pressure is on them - I'm just going in to enjoy the game and challenge myself. When I play with them, I hope to see how far I am from them, what I can improve on and what I can learn from them." With his historic win, his days as an underdog might well be over, but he is not one to rest on his laurels. The World Championships win is already in the past. "Everyone views success differently. When I achieve one goal, I'd set another goal even higher. I actually want to forget about being the world champion," he says, adding with a laugh that he is "totally not used to people coming up to me and saying, 'Hey, world champion'". Dwelling on one win is not what he wants to do, he adds. "I'm working on consistency, so one win is not really a thing. Of course, nobody can peak all the time, or win all the time. "That's why players like Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan are such role models, because they win almost all the time," he says, referring to the former Malaysian and Chinese world champions. "I won't call myself really good until I become consistent at the top." Loh has displayed this drive and determination from a young age, having left his family and home in Penang, Malaysia, at just 13 to enrol in the Singapore Sports School. Later, bucking societal conventions and parental expectations, he made the decision to quit Republic Polytechnic where he was studying Sports and Leisure Management to focus on badminton full-time. "Many people told me that I should continue with my education as a back-up plan. Even my parents were scared for me," he shares. "But I can get a certificate any time. There's a time limit to sports and a shorter lifespan, so if you miss it, you miss it." He says: "I knew I needed to choose one because if I were to continue listening to my parents and doing things by halves, in the end, if I don't succeed, I would blame someone. I'd rather take full responsibility for my actions and if there are any consequences, at least it's my decision. I just don't want to have any regrets." That decision turned out to be pivotal. "One way I looked at it was: When I don't have a back-up plan, I'll be more hardworking," he says. "Whenever I feel tired or lazy, I'm like, I have nothing to fall back on - I need to keep going." The destination? If things go according to Loh's plans, Olympic glory and a spot atop the world rankings, his early exit at the recent All England Open but a learning step on that path. He also had to pull out of this week's Swiss Open after contracting Covid-19 last week. While he works towards his goals, he is finding purpose in inspiring a younger generation and opening up conversations about badminton. "When people tell me that I inspire them, I used to not know what they mean. Honestly, I was shocked," he admits. "I'm just playing badminton and you're inspired by me? But as time goes by and I get more and more of that, I realise I can actually change someone's life to a certain extent. Like, maybe I can show people that sport is a meaningful thing to pursue, instead of just study, study, study. "Or maybe I can show them that discipline is a really important part of life, that to achieve something, you need hard work and persevere. I'm happy I achieved something and that more people are now following and talking about badminton. "I hope to open up the path in some way and that eventually, more people will take up sports and there will be more support for it." When asked about the group of people who recently rallied to raise more than $350,000 for him after realising that his World Championships win did not come with a cash prize, Loh is sanguine - not for himself, but for what it means to the sporting community. "It's a great thing - not for the monetary aspect of it, but for the awareness and support that people have for the sport," he says. "I hope we can be a sporting nation. Even though we're so small, I don't think it's impossible. It's all about that personal hunger." And he is ravenous. This article first appeared in Harper's BAZAAR Singapore, the leading fashion glossy on the best of style, beauty, design, travel and the arts. Go to Harper's BAZAAR's website and follow @harpersbazaarsg on Instagram; harpersbazaarsingapore on Facebook. The March 2022 issue is out on newsstands now. MORE ON THIS TOPIC Sporting Life: Trust in Loh Kean Yew as he plots patient graph to success Making of a world champ: Shuttler Loh Kean Yew left his home, family, school to chase his dreams
This is a really good question. More interesting than speculation of Yuta and Arisa fooling around together.
ST Athlete of the Year: I'm a world champ but it hasn't changed my fighting spirit, says Loh Kean Yew From now till April 22, ST will honour outstanding Singaporeans who are nominees for the 2021 ST Athlete of the Year award. They defied the odds, injuries and the pandemic to chase their sporting dreams, setting new standards of excellence for others to follow. Loh Kean Yew has set his sights on becoming the first Singaporean shuttler to capture an Olympic medal. PHOTO: ST FILE David Lee PUBLISHED APR 15, 2022, 1:00 PM SGT SINGAPORE - For the first eight months of last year, Loh Kean Yew could not muster a single meaningful victory on the badminton court. At the Yonex and Toyota Thailand Opens in January, he won the first game in each of the opening rounds but went on to lose both matches. Then at the Tokyo Olympics in July, needing a victory against Indonesia's Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie to progress to the round of 16, Loh again fell short. "The two defeats in Thailand were a good wake-up call for me because it has been a long time since we previously played in any tournament because of Covid-19," said the 24-year-old. "After that, I trained a lot harder than before. And it was the same after the Olympics - I was aiming for a medal but got knocked out at the group stage, so I was determined to make up for lost time and ground." The final few months of 2021 is now Singapore sporting history. Following a one-month training stint with Olympic champion and world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen and a few players in the top 60, Loh won the Dutch Open, Hylo Open in Germany, and the biggest one of all - the World Championships in Spain. Despite an injured ankle and sole in the latter rounds, the unseeded Singaporean claimed the scalps of Axelsen, world No. 3 Anders Antonsen and other higher-ranked players like Kantaphon Wangcharoen and Kidambi Srikanth. He stunned not just the badminton world but also himself in Huelva, becoming the Republic's first world champion in the sport, and earning himself a nomination for the 2021 ST Athlete of the Year Award, which is backed by 100Plus. "I'm confident in my own abilities, but the achievement came too suddenly," said Loh with a laugh. The landmark win has brought with it fortune and fame. Well-wishers contributed around $500,000, while he is also endorsing brands like Li-Ning and Seiko. Fellow players seek wefies with him at international tournaments, while teenage girls shriek when they spot him at fast-food restaurants here, as his Instagram followers surged to over 200,000 from around 4,000 in 2019. This year, he reached the India Open final and helped Singapore claim a historic bronze at the Badminton Asia Team Championships and qualify for the Thomas Cup. But in both tournaments he lost to fellow generational talents Lakshya Sen in India and Lee Zii Jia in Malaysia, leading to some criticism about the quick drop in form. Life is no longer the same anymore, his results - good or bad - seem magnified, and it takes getting used to. Candidly, Loh said: "I need to know and accept that I'm now a world champion, and I need to face the pressure and expectations. I cannot always be running away from it. "It will be different from how I used to handle pressure, but I will learn and hopefully one day I will be able to handle it well. "But what doesn't change are my love for badminton, my fighting spirit and the putting in of hard work to continue to improve to get to where I want to be." The world No. 10 has set his sights set on climbing the rankings and becoming the first Singaporean shuttler to capture an Olympic medal, hopefully at Paris 2024. He said: "The world title showed anything is possible. That, and the support Singaporeans have shown towards me and my team-mates, are big motivation for me to continue to strive to bring more sporting glory for our country." MORE ON THIS TOPIC ST Athlete of the Year: Bowler Shayna Ng overcomes struggles to claim a third world title ST Athlete of the Year: Kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder rises above and beyond
Badminton player Loh Kean Yew is The Straits Times' Athlete of the Year 2021 Badminton player Loh Kean Yew is The Straits Times' Athlete of the Year 2021 | The Straits Times The ST Athlete of the Year 2021 award is back. After a great year of sporting achievement for Singapore, seven nominees – the largest tally in the history of the award – were up for the prize. ST Athlete of the Year is presented by 100Plus. Kimberly Kwek PUBLISHED APR 29, 2022, 1:00 PM SGT SINGAPORE - Loh Kean Yew was his usual affable self when he visited The Straits Times office for a show held to honour him as the ST Athlete of the Year 2021. It was a packed day for him - the ceremony was sandwiched between two training sessions - but the 24-year-old never looked hurried, chatting with guests and posing for a few photographs. Life has only gotten busier since he became a badminton world champion last December but he has remained steadfastly grounded. He said: "I'm happy that I won it despite having all the other strong contestants out there. All of us deserve to win this title because we all have our own sacrifices and difficulties. "We've all gone through our own stresses and have overcome everything. It means a lot to me because it's also (validation that) my sacrifices and hard work have paid off." He began last year in indifferent form with some early round exits but turned his season around spectacularly, winning the Dutch Open in October, Germany's Hylo Open a month later and capping it off at the World Championships in Huelva, Spain. Despite an injured ankle and sole in the latter rounds, the unseeded Singaporean beat Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, world No. 3 Anders Antonsen and former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth en route to an improbable gold medal. Loh was one of seven nominees, the largest tally in the history of the annual award that started in 2009 and continues to be backed by 100Plus. Last year's edition was not held due to the pandemic. Besides Loh, the other candidates were Yu Mengyu (table tennis), Kimberly Lim and Cecilia Low (sailing), Aloysius Yapp (pool), Max Maeder (kite foiling), Yip Pin Xiu (para-swimming) and Shayna Ng (bowling). ST sports editor Lee Yulin headed an eight-member judging panel for this year's award that included Singapore Hockey Federation president Mathavan Devadas, national floorball coach Louise Khng and national shooter Jasmine Ser. Lee said: "Team Singapore made a smashing return from their Covid-induced hiatus, and the breadth and depth of their achievements are reflected in the fact we have seven nominees instead of the usual five. "That said, it was Kean Yew's victory that stood out. His achievement led to parents signing their kids up for badminton lessons and a surge in the sales of rackets and shuttlecocks. That, to me, is testament to how inspirational his achievement was." Past winners include swimmers Tao Li (2008) Quah Ting Wen (2009), the national women's table tennis team (2010), badminton player Fu Mingtian (2011), para equestrienne Laurentia Tan (2012), footballer Safuwan Baharudin (2013), swimmer Joseph Schooling (2014, 2016), para swimmer Yip Pin Xiu (2015), para table tennis player Jason Chee (2017), bowler Muhammad Jaris Goh (2018) and Brazilian jiu-jitsu exponent Constance Lien (2019). Jennifer See, F&N Foods Singapore managing director, said: "The spirit and objectives of the award align with 100Plus' commitment to support our athletes and encourage them to excel in their sport. Through our various initiatives, we hope to contribute to the national effort of nurturing potential young athletes in Singapore. "We would like to congratulate the nominees of this award on their stellar achievements. The nominees have all exhibited strong physical and emotional endurance to attain the pinnacle of sports excellence." Loh Kean Yew celebrates his victory during the men's singles final at the BWF World Championships in Huelva, Spain, on Dec 19, 2021. PHOTO: AFP MORE ON THIS TOPIC Badminton: Loh Kean Yew eases into Asia Championships quarter-finals Badminton: 10 things to know about Singapore ace Loh Kean Yew The year ahead is a busy one for Loh. He is aiming to win the men's singles gold at next month's Hanoi SEA Games before turning his attention to the July 28-Aug 8 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, defending his title at the World Championships in Tokyo in late August and then the Asian Games in Hangzhou a month later. But his immediate focus is self-improvement. On what his goals are, he said: "To maintain consistency, to find out how to be consistent in training and being disciplined. And for tournaments how do I perform well. It's not possible to perform in all the matches, but I'm working on how to perform well and consistently for most matches." MORE ON THIS TOPIC ST Athlete of the Year: I'm a world champ but it hasn't changed my fighting spirit, says Loh Kean Yew Sporting Life: Trust in Loh Kean Yew as he plots patient graph to success
Yahoo News Singapore Videos Singapore shuttler Loh Kean Yew prepares for the SEA Games Thu, May 5, 2022, 10:41 AM Following his extraordinary triumph at the Badminton World Championships, Singapore shuttler Loh Kean Yew talks about how he has had to adjust his preparations, now that all his opponents will be eager to take down a world champion. Video Transcript [MUSIC PLAYING] LOH KEAN YEW: A bit rocky, yeah, yeah. Yeah, there are a lot of ups and downs trying to learn-- because it's a learning process for me to deal with this pressure. It's a very new thing for me. I try different ways. Like, I start-- I try to be-- I try to still continue to go as an underdog, play as an underdog, but I didn't work out [INAUDIBLE] people know that, and people will analyze all my games. Yeah, and it's not easy to play while being analyzed, all that. So, yeah, I need to learn how to improvise and be better than in my previous game. And then, also, so now I try to face head-on that-- acknowledge that I'm the world champ, and how should I play with this pressure on me. He has been helping me since I was really young. Technically, he watched me grow up. So the time I was in the army, [INAUDIBLE], and then I can only come out at night, because I was having calls. Yeah, so I can only come out at night and train. And he actually took his time off, his family time and all, to come and train me personally. He knows that a lot of time is we don't dare to push this kind of thing. So he'll try to push us to overcome our mental barrier and all. Spending time with them is really a more relaxed moment, and is really like family time, friend time. So it gives me the home, chill, relaxed feeling, yeah, rather than always [INAUDIBLE] world champ, world champ, and all, yeah. It's more relaxing, not always only about, like, how to be better, how to be better. A bit like work/life balance. Now I'm trying to be as consistent as possible. So when I work on my things, I think success will come after that. Yeah, when it happens, it happens.
Sporting Life: When a small island is big on sporting inspiration (From left) Managing editor Dominic Nathan, sports editor Lee Yulin, winner Loh Kean Yew and F&N Foods Singapore managing director Jennifer See at the ST Athlete of the Year award ceremony. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG Rohit Brijnath Assistant Sports Editor PUBLISHED APR 29, 2022, 1:45 PM SGT SINGAPORE - Martin Luther King was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi, writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez by Ernest Hemingway, singer Billy Joel by The Beatles. Everyone looks up to someone, is partially sparked by someone, and this power that a stranger can have on another person, to lead them forward, is a very poignant and human thing. This capacity to inspire is essential to sport. The great deed rouses a boy and leads him to dreaming. A girl switches on a TV and feels compelled to play. Autographs are sought of New York Yankees players even by Bruce Springsteen and his son. Influence travels across sports and Chris Plys, a curler, once said he had a blown-up photo of Michael Phelps on his office desk. At The Straits Times sports desk we appreciate this. It's why our Athlete of the Year award, sponsored by 100Plus, has never been interested only in the colour of a medal but also the inspiration attached to it. It's not just the size of the feat but the effect of it. And few people affected us last year like our winner, whose smile appears as fast as he moves. Inspiration is Loh Kean Yew's calling card. The world badminton champion has people talking, kids watching and parents investing in rackets. A single, glorious week can start a movement. To hand Loh his award, a small group of people collected in a Straits Times studio. This annual ceremony, where the nominees and wider sports fraternity usually gather, has always been noisy and joyous, but Covid-19 has quietened the world. Gatherings are still a little modest but it can't dilute their meaning. Earl Warren, the former chief justice of the US Supreme Court, once said: "I always turn to the sports section first. The sports section records people's accomplishments; the front page nothing but man's failures." The ceremony was to salute those who adorn the back pages of a newspaper and to remember the history-writers of 2021. In 2048, we might ask a young bowler, what brought you to this sport. She might say two words. Shayna Ng. Winner of the International Bowling Federation Super World Championships in 2021 and one of our nominees. It's the same for Maximilian Maeder, kitefoiler, and Aloysius Yapp, pool player, who both got to world No. 1. And Kimberly Lim and Cecilia Low, sailors, who reached the medal race at the Olympics. And Yip Pin Xiu, swimmer, winner of two more Paralympic golds. And Yu Mengyu, table tennis star, who was fourth at the Olympics. As this list was read out, Singapore had to feel a little proud. Small population, but a long list. Only one city, but a range of heroes. People who had shone on various tables, who mastered lanes in water and in halls, and who deftly wielded cues, rackets and bats. The youngest was 15, the eldest 32, and once again the women outnumbered the men. In an unrelentingly competitive world, nations use sport as a weapon to show off, invest millions in a single victory, put academics aside and dip into large pools of talent. In this planet, Singapore shouldn't even register on the sports map and yet it does. Why play, local athletes are often asked. What's special about the Olympics? Drop this dream. Chase a degree. Still, thousands of local athletes push on, inspired by the idea that their journey will be fulfilling. But everyone needs hope and in a Singaporean environment which is often suspicious of a life in sport, every act of excellence from Loh, Low, Lim, Maeder, Ng, Yapp, Yip and Yu has weight. Even though there was only one trophy at the ST Athlete of the Year ceremony, it felt like a larger triumph. All year we scrutinise the system and evaluate officials and criticise missteps, but this was a day to acknowledge progress. It might be said these athletes were aided by parents, assisted by officials, pushed by coaches, tuned by trainers, freed by psychologists, all of them together straining to make history. And yet for all that truth, every athletic journey is also a solitary one. For all the cheering from outside and the flag on a shirt, Loh and his peers compete alone under the lights. And each bold step taken is akin to a stone tossed into a pool. It sets off lovely and large ripples of inspiration. SPH Brightcove Video MORE ON THIS TOPIC Badminton player Loh Kean Yew is The Straits Times' Athlete of the Year 2021 Singapore in fray to host first Olympic Virtual Sports Festival, says IOC president
Did the semi match took the gas out of LKY? He will be disappointed. With people now studying his game, he will have to work hard.
I'm afraid LKY will have to work harder. He made too many unforced errors in this evening's SEA Games final against Thailand's Kunlavut and lost too tamely. I felt he was not making chances for himself and was too proactive.
