Update 26 May 2022: Badminton star Loh Kean Yew included in Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list
Loh was the first Singaporean to be crowned badminton world champion after winning the singles title at the 2021 BWF World Championship in December 2021. PHOTO: ST FILE
Badminton player Loh Kean Yew is among 47 individuals in Singapore who have been included in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia - a list celebrating 300 young entrepreneurs and trailblazers under the age of 30 in various fields in Asia.
The honourees were selected across 10 categories, including the arts, social impact, consumer technology, and entertainment and sports.
Announcing the list on Thursday (May 26), Forbes said it features young people who are inspiring change and driving innovation in their respective fields amid challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Public raises more than S$108,000 for badminton world champion Loh Kean Yew, more donations pouring in
Over S$145,000 in total has since been raised for Loh, including the initial S$50,000 that was first put together by the 5 business leaders interviewed by The Business Times
THE public has raised more than S$100,000 for newly crowned badminton world champion Loh Kean Yew through a donation channel set up by Wei Chan, the managing director of Pine Garden's Cake.
Chan, a longstanding badminton enthusiast, had previously banded together with 4 other business leaders in Singapore to
set up a fund of S$50,000 for Loh on Dec 24, 2021, in order to motivate the national shuttler to continue pursuing his sporting dreams. It also came to his attention that Loh did not receive any prize money from his win at the BWF World Championships. The other 4 business leaders who contributed to the private fund are: Ang Kiam Meng, executive director and group chief executive officer (CEO) of Jumbo Group; Daryl Neo, co-founder and CEO of DC Frontiers; Dora Hoan, group CEO and co-chairman of Best World International; and Eugene Ang, managing director of JK Technology. They were mentioned in The Business Times article "
Smash hits from the court: 6 business leaders serve up lessons from badminton" (Dec 22).
On Jan 2, Chan set up another fund to take in public donations via Ray of Hope, a crowdfunding non-profit organisation and platform. This was after he received queries from members of the public who wanted to find out how they could support Loh in his endeavours.
Bonus of about $1m awaits S'pore's Loh Kean Yew after World C'ships win
On Dec 19, Loh Kean Yew became the first Singaporean to win the Badminton World Federation World Championships. PHOTO: ST FILE
Badminton world champion Loh Kean Yew could be set for a windfall of about $1 million in sponsorship and monetary contributions from benefactors and various partners for his efforts in Huelva, Spain last month.
As he is not eligible for prize money or cash rewards from the Government, there has since been a flurry of interest to support Loh financially.
Loh Kean Yew makes history for Singapore badminton
From world No.41 to world beater, Loh Kean Yew's extraordinary two-month form has landed him one of the biggest prizes in badminton. From now on, he will be remembered as a world champion. The 24-year-old had already rewritten sporting history repeatedly these past few days - from first Singaporean medallist to first Singaporean finalist at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships.
On Sunday (19 December), he became Singapore's first world champion after a 21-15, 22-20 victory in the men's singles final over India's world No.14 Kidambi Srikanth in 43 exhilarating minutes in Huelva, Spain. Despite falling behind in both sets to the more experienced Srikanth, Loh managed to inch his way back with exceptional reflexes and wily shot-making. As Srikanth's errors crept up, Loh kept his cool to put the former world No.1 away.
As he roared in delight and fell to his knees at his monumental achievement, it marked the culmination of a barely-believable surge in form from October onwards, in which he made a nonsense out of his modest world No.22 ranking by beating six top-10 players, including two world No.1s in Japan's Kento Momota and Denmark's reigning Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen.
Making of a badminton champ: Loh Kean Yew left his home, family, school to chase his dreams
Photos of Loh Kean Yew winning the 2009 Malaysia's National Junior Grand Prix Under-12 (left) and representing the Singapore Sports School in 2010. PHOTOS: JONATHAN WONG, SINGAPORE SPORTS SCHOOL
Call it a mother's intuition.
For Grace Gan, there were three moments in Loh Kean Yew's life which convinced her that her youngest son could become a successful professional badminton player.
The first was in 2009, when the Penang-born 11-year-old surprisingly won Malaysia's National Junior Grand Prix Under-12 title, beating the more-fancied Lee Zii Jia - this year's All England champion - in the final.
'He had that spark': Mentor, badminton association on what made Loh Kean Yew a world champ
Loh Kean Yew pictured in 2010 at the age of 10 with Mr Desmond Tan, general manager of the Singapore Sports School's Badminton Academy
When Loh Kean Yew first visited Singapore in 2007 to help his older brother in a trial to enter the Badminton Academy of the Singapore Sports School, it took only 10 minutes for the academy’s general manager Desmond Tan to notice the younger sibling. “That short warm-up session with his older brother actually caught my eye,” he said. “It was obvious that he has innate talent in badminton … he had that spark.”
Loh had not gone for the trial himself, being only 10 years old at that time and not yet eligible to enter the Singapore Sports School. He had accompanied his brother Kean Hean, then aged 12 and now also a national shuttler, merely to help him warm up.
When Loh himself returned to Singapore Sports School for his own trial two years later in 2009 at the age of 12, he was “outstanding” during the trials and was immediately accepted into the programme, Mr Tan recounted.
'I can finally tell the world how happy I am': Loh Kean Yew reflects on being badminton world champion
In the days leading up to the biggest victory of his life, Loh Kean Yew was silent on social media. Nothing on Twitter, no posts on Instagram and not a word on Facebook."That was something I needed to do so as to focus, and not have any expectations (placed on me), not have any distractions," he told CNA. "It was an intentional decision."
Instead, the bubbly 24-year-old did all his talking on the court. Drawn against possibly the worst opponent he could have hoped for in the first round of the badminton World Championships, the apprentice beat the master as the Singaporean upset world number one Viktor Axelsen in a win for the ages. After cruising past Austria's Luka Wraber in the second round, Loh then
thrashed Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen in their round of 16 clash on Thursday, taking the match in just 30 minutes. The commentators were flabbergasted, Kantaphon was shellshocked, and Loh marched on. After successfully navigating a potential banana skin in the form of India’s HS Prannoy, Loh faced world number 3 Anders Antonsen in the semis. The Dane saved six game points in the first game - and it didn't matter one bit, because the Singaporean would go on to take the victory.
Then came the climax on Sunday, as Loh sealed his place in the history books by becoming the
first Singaporean to win a BWF World Championship title. The world number 22 beat India’s Kidambi Srikanth 21-15, 22-20 in the men’s singles final in Huelva, Spain, on Sunday (Dec 18) to cap off a fairytale run. "He did play well and I also was nervous," admitted Loh. "His shots are quite deceptive, so it was not easy." "I can finally tell the world how happy I am because I have been holding back (how I feel) and I needed to stay focused," he said with a laugh. "Now I can finally tell (everybody) that I'm really happy."
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Singapore's Loh Kean Yew is badminton world champion
History took 43 hectic minutes, two games and 78 points. At the end of it, unseeded national shuttler Loh Kean Yew stunned the badminton world by becoming the first Singaporean to win the World Championships.
On Sunday (Dec 19), the Singaporean world No. 22 upset India's world No. 14 Srikanth Kidambi 21-15, 22-20 in the final in Huelva, Spain.
On the final point, when a push to the back court landed in, Loh sank to his knees but ascended into sporting legend.
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Loh Kean Yew 骆建佑
Loh Kean Yew (Chinese: 骆建佑; pinyin: Luò Jiànyòu; born 26 June 1997) is a Singaporean badminton player and the reigning men's singles badminton world champion. He took part in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, where he was also the flag bearer for Singapore during the Parade of Nations. In 2021, Loh won the 2021 BWF World Championships, defeating India's world number 14 Srikanth Kidambi 21–15, 22–20 in the final. He became the first Singaporean to hold this title.
Born in the state of Penang, Loh is the youngest son with three elder brothers. He played badminton at age seven in primary school but dropped the sport after being made fun of. He picked up badminton once again at ten and within six months, he was in the Penang state team. He also became the winner of an under-12 tournament. In 2010, a year after his third brother Loh Kean Hean came to Singapore, he permanently moved to Singapore at the age of 13 after he received a scholarship from the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA), and was educated at the Singapore Sports School. He added that he did not regret this decision, saying that Singapore has given him all the support that he needed. He also stated that his goal is to eventually win an Olympic gold medal for Singapore in badminton. Loh's elder brother, Loh Kean Hean, is also a member of the Singapore national badminton team.
Loh served his National Service (NS) for the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) during the period 2016 to 2018, earning the rank of corporal first class (CFC). During his service, he also played badminton for the Singapore Armed Forces Sports Association (SAFSA). In 2018, he received the best sportsman award by SAFSA.
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