Yes, I studied from Secondary to university there, also worked for a few years after graduation. Almost like Loh Kean Yew, born in other country, spend most of my youth in SG. I have even attended some holiday badminton camp with SBA before but of course I don't have the talent even if I train seriously so I never consider to be full time player. Yeah, it has been a few years since I last visited singapore, even my last trip only for a 2 day conference. perhaps next year I could go there again
Great, hope you are doing well and keeping fit with badminton. Are you now residing in the US or elsewhere?
Oh, must be the influence of badminton! Your bahasa Indonesia must be very good by now! Many years ago, a group of BC friends went to Jakarta to witness the Thomas/Uber Cup tournaments and we had a great time there!
Prize money usually mean nothing much. It should be the endorsements. However, considering that Singapore is a very small marketplace, local players are not attractive to advertisers before they become very famous. Not many of them will be able to economically sustain themselves until they win the World Championships some day. We just need to look at LKY's shirt; there's nothing much there. Not even a bubble tea ad or something.
2008, I had some friends who came from Malaysia and wanted to watch at the stadium but we could not get tickets. I did not watch live. At that time, there was no online ticket sales yet
the jury is out but i doubt winning WC will change the mindset of the public. I just dont think sports are that appreciated in SG. Unless you can keep winning the big titles (AG next year - it will be hard for SG to win gold in that multievent so winning it will go long way too) and then someone took it further. I think after this LKY will have more Singaporeans watching him play (in television) if he keeps up with this form but in terms of endorsements , we will still have to see. SG is in need of young talents to take it even further. If it stops with LKY then its the end again, just like how Schooling won OG and then theres no more left.
I agree with what Yoji says. No matter what success or historical record created by genuinely hardworking local athletes, they will never be appreciated by the public. I have a feeling that Singaporean society in general is very toxic too. When athletes perform badly, they will never hesitate to badmouth and put them down online. For example, what I saw the way Joseph Schooling was treated or trolled online when he failed to advance through Tokyo heats WAS disgraceful. I mean it's the pandemic world what do you expect the athlete to do ? The athlete usually trains in USA, and he is stuck in Singapore. If one should pinpoint the blame, it should be towards the Sports Ministry for failing the coach and athlete. Little did we know later on his father was suffering from cancer before succumbed to it later this year (condolences to him). If Loh Kean Yew had a good run in this event, it does not change anything. It does create temporary something to talk about among Singaporeans and more so from the Malaysian side since Loh was ex-Malaysian. I hope Kean Yew goes all the way and create history for Singapore.
Singapore are not too enthusiastic about their sporting achievements except football. The most is a short news report. They do not have any sports programmes on national tv, let alone a dedicated one.
Loh Kean Yew becomes first S'porean to reach badminton world c'ships semis, guaranteed at least a bronze Loh Kean Yew (above) will meet Denmark's world No. 3 Anders Antonsen in Saturday's semi-final. PHOTO: BADMINTONPHOTO David Lee PUBLISHED 9 HOURS AGO SINGAPORE - World No. 22 Loh Kean Yew let out a huge roar as he became the first Singaporean shuttler to secure a Badminton World Federation World Championships medal after beating India's 32nd-ranked Prannoy H. S. 21-14, 21-12 in their quarter-final in Huelva, Spain on Friday (Dec 17). He will meet Denmark's world No. 3 Anders Antonsen - who advanced after Malaysia's world No. 7 Lee Zii Jia retired in the decider of their last eight meeting - in the semi-final on Saturday, which also means Loh is assured of at least a shared bronze. Against Prannoy, Loh got off to his trademark explosive start, taking a 3-0 lead after fending off two smashes and winning a 36-shot rally. But the 29-year-old proved to be a tough customer and bounced back to 11-10, before Loh turned on the afterburners. Similarly in the second game, they were locked at 8-8 before the 24-year-old stormed home with the historic win. It has been a strong end to 2021 for Loh, who surged 21 places in eight weeks to crack the top 20 before settling in his current position. Besides capturing the Dutch Open and Hylo Open titles in the past two months, he also claimed the scalps of Japan's then-world No. 1 Kento Momota (Indonesia Open), Malaysia's world No. 7 and All England champion Lee Zii Jia (French Open) and Chinese Taipei's world No. 4 Chou Tien-chen (Hylo Open). At these World Championships, he stunned Denmark's world No. 1 and Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen 14-21, 21-9, 21-6 in the opening round, before easing past Austria's 93rd-ranked Luka Wraber 21-4, 21-8 in the second round and then Thailand's world No. 20 Kantaphon Wangcharoen 21-4, 21-7 in the last 16. Every remaining match in this event will be a history-making one, and while he has never played Antonsen before, it will not daunt him, as he has already recorded first wins over Axelsen, Wraber and Prannoy.
Not too sure how SG manages their athletes but I've observed that the focus seems to be more on Singles rather than the Doubles. Or it could just be that the talent happens to be in Singles but I would love to see some MD pairs that can at least challenge at 300/500 level.
The thing is what is Loh Kean Yew has achieved or about to achieve later on is unprecedented and could send a strong motivation point to the rest of Singaporean players Their success is long overdue and it is time for them to leave their mark in almost every single major event. Imagine Singapore with World Title whilst Malaysia is ZERO.
I want to ask Singaporeans about this sport scholarship programme offered to Loh Kean Yew. What is so appealing about that Loh or any other non-Singaporean would accept ? Do they offer lifetime support for sports training until the athlete retires with citizen benefits ?
Not pouring cold water. I don't see any real challengers for 300/500 levels apart from Loh and Yeo. SG don't have any potential doubles pair at the moment, though I feel doubles should be easier to groom compare to singles (saw singles player who don't excel, switch to doubles, but seldom vice versa). Whatsmore, Loh is a talent from Malaysia whom later take up SG citizenship.
Long overdue, nay, SG rarely have such success in WC, or even >500 level tournaments. This pandemic has caused top players missing tournaments here and there, especially China. Plus Loh was talent spotted by SG from Malaysia. So I feel his success should be celebrated by both SG and Malaysia badminton lovers.
How much will he get if he wins WC? this is Singapore society. I hope he wins tonight , go go LKY Majulah Singapura
Yes, I do hope LKY wins tonight as a reward for his hard work and sacrifice. Maybe the non-government/private sectors will reward him handsomely as I do not know whether officially he will be entitled to financial rewards as given to Olympic medal winners, the gold medal is worth S$1 million. Joseph Schooling got his from swimming.
Bonus from SBA sure be there. This is not Olympics or Asian Games, or even SEA Games, so i dun think there is any further reward. The glory is there, even if there is no prize $. Just ask LCW.
Yeah, the glory is there but you dont live on glory in SG or everywhere in the world otherwise the Indonesia team like JC and FA wouldnt have complained in social media asking for bonus on winning TC. Of course someone likes KSS just keeps quiet since it doesnt really matter the bonus is there or not. I mean it would have been the same for me, i am no angel if its so difficult for me to win SS titles, i d do the samw. Therefore, in LCW case, he already wins everything and loads of money so if he wants to win WC just to add to his glory.. Tonight LKY needs gold. either gold or nothing. And i’d expect say at least 250,000$ from combined private sectors. This should really be the least on giving happiness to the country. Remember winning now doesnt mean he will win SS in futures.. and glory will just be glory which is a word.
