By Justin Kor

One hour. That’s how long shuttler Loh Kean Yew has been in Singapore since August. And it was spent in a transit lounge at Changi Airport, a mere stopover from Europe en route to the Indonesian island of Bali for more badminton.

The last four months has seen this athlete also become part nomad. The European expedition saw him practise and compete his way across France, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany. Before that was a Middle Eastern experience for a month-long training camp in Dubai with Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen.

It is not over yet. Loh will return to Europe from Indonesia, where the World Championships in Spain awaits. By the year’s end, he will have clocked close to 60,000km on this badminton odyssey – a distance enough to circumnavigate the Earth almost twice.

For more than 100 days and counting, he has changed beds almost weekly, traversed multiple time zones, and fought exhausting jet lag. It is the longest he has ever been away from home. “I’ve worn the same set of clothes for nearly four months already,” said the 24-year-old with a laugh. But the most tiring part? “Doing my own laundry – I have to keep washing,” he said, a wry smile etched on his face. Who knew that dirty clothes would be the biggest obstacle to the pursuit of glory?

But while he may miss his bed at home, the gruelling schedule has paid dividends. The shuttler has witnessed a stratospheric rise in recent months.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Loh Kean Yew OLY (@lohkeanyew)

In the Netherlands, he became Dutch Open singles champion after defeating top seed Lakshya Sen of India. Three weeks later in Germany, he would bag his biggest career title to date yet: the Hylo Open. Loh, who clinched his first Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 500 title, had overcame several higher-ranked opponents, such as Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen and Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia.

In Bali, he would come agonisingly close to eclipsing that result, embarking on a remarkable run at the Indonesian Open. At the higher-ranked BWF World Tour Super 1000 event, he vanquished world No.1 Kento Momota before falling to Axelsen in a scintillating final.

In just seven short weeks, he has skyrocketed from world No. 41 to 20. No wonder he describes his current trajectory as “almost straight up”. “Hopefully there’s more to come,” he said.

THE UNFORGETTABLE MATCH

But these victories do not rank as the match he considers as the year’s most memorable. Instead, it was a loss – one suffered in Tokyo during the Olympics, when a debuting Loh faced off against reigning Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie.

There may have been a gulf in world rankings between the two, with Loh then ranked 42nd and Christie 7th. But it hardly showed on court as the Singaporean pushed the Indonesian to the brink for a last-16 spot at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza.

It was a match that he described as having gone “absolute all out”. For 66 minutes, he had tirelessly stretched, smashed and scurried his way around the court to thwart Christie, who at times seemed to have no answer to his intensity. But it was not enough, as Loh narrowly succumbed in three games.

The defeat drained him physically and emotionally. “I had already poured out everything I had, but still lost,” he said.

But another achievement for a fruitful 2021 had been accomplished. “Participating in my first Olympics is quite a milestone – it’s a dream come true,” he said. There was a second-long pause, before he added, “Actually it’s only half a dream come true – I eventually want to win a medal.”

COURTSIDE COMFORT

While the spotlight and pressure may be on Loh, he takes great comfort in having a constant presence courtside. It is one that has always been there since he first competed at 15 years old: his coach Kelvin Ho.

“We grew up together,” said Loh. “He’s like another older brother of mine. We can click well, and he’s very passionate.” Following Loh’s Olympic exit, the duo even shared a tender embrace. “You saw Joseph Schooling’s hug with his coach? I also had one – just that no one took a photo,” he said with a laugh.

“The credit goes to him,” said Ho of Loh’s recent stellar showings. “It takes two hands to clap for this relationship to work. He trusts me and I trust him, and it works very well.”

But the coach is quick to point out there is still some ways to go, describing Loh’s latest achievements as a ‘small breakthrough’. “The real breakthrough will come when he begins performing on this level consistently,” said Ho.

While it remains to be seen whether Loh can repeat his solid performances at the World Championships, one thing is for sure: he feels no fear. “Dare to dream, and dream big,” he said.