Loh Kean Yew, Yeo Jia Min to face Japan’s top seeds
Kean Yew to face world No. 1 Momota, while Jia Min up against 3rd-ranked Yamaguchi at Indonesia Open
National shuttlers Loh Kean Yew and Yeo Jia Min celebrated reaching career-highs in the world rankings by coming through their respective Indonesia Open first-round matches yesterday.
But huge obstacles lie in wait for them in the round of 16 in Japanese top seeds Kento Momota and Akane Yamaguchi tomorrow.
World No. 26 Loh beat India's Parupalli Kashyap 21-11, 21-14 in 32 minutes. He was in total control in his first game at the US$850,000 (S$1.2 million) event but faced more resistance from his world No. 34 opponent in the second frame.
Nevertheless, the 24-year-old Singaporean produced a typical late surge to turn around a 14-12 deficit with nine straight points to extend his perfect record against the 2014 Commonwealth Games men's singles champion to 3-0.
Loh said: "Kashyap is an experienced player with good shot quality, so I just tried my best to get ready for every shot as fast as possible. Today, I felt sharp and stuck to my game plan even when he overtook me in the second game."
He is looking forward to pitting his skills against world No. 1 Momota, whom he lost 21-17, 21-18 to in their only meeting at the Vietnam International Challenge 2018.
Said Loh: "I have played with many seeded players in the past few tournaments and I haven't played Momota yet. I hope to perform well against him to see how I fare and where I stand against the world's top 10."
Meanwhile, compatriot Yeo, who climbed to world No. 18 in the women's singles rankings released yesterday, breezed past Poland's world No. 63 Jordan Hart 21-9, 21-10 in 31 minutes.
The 22-year-old was a cut above with her angled placements and drop shots. She will take on world No. 3 Yamaguchi, who leads their head-to head 2-1, although Yeo stunned the then-world No. 1 at the 2019 World Championships.
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