No comments on the Indonesian team as I have no information. As for LCW, he wouldn't name his bio 败者为王 if he dun have regrets of not winning a gold medal in WC/Oly, failing in the final hurdle several times. He is rich, a Datuk, winner of the most SS titles. If WC is just something to add to his glory, will he used the word 败者? Hmm...will there be a day when a commentator introduce player in this manner..."Here's the final between Loh of SG and Lee of Malaysia. Loh has won $40k career prize $, while Lee has $50k. Lee has certainly achieve greater success than Loh so far. Even if Loh win today, but with the winner getting $5k prize money, he is still behind Lee in the world ($) ranking".
well Bron, Djokovic , Hamilton , LD , LCW (current and up till the day they retired). its as expected and easier to count in Individual sports since usually its the total titles that matter in Individual.
Congratulations to the 2021 World Champ Loh Kean Yew! It's crazy to think of the improvements in less than a year. He has the whole package right now, mental strength, calm demeanour, fitness and game sense. His form is similar to peak Kento Momota with a bit less quality in racquet touch. Yeo Jia Min also improved but still needs to develop her game, looking forward to seeing more great badminton from both of them.
It's a little bit too late but maybe Singapore should do something about their doubles and mixed doubles departments ? I mean Singapore has the money and facilities to at least try to lure/tempt Malaysian coach(es) that specialise in doubles ? Of course, the right set of players must be selected before any training regime. Why not Singapore do this since Malaysia does have a good track record of producing decent doubles players even though they wont win big titles? If Singapore could bring out decent doubles players, they will be strong competitor for Thomas and Sudirman, not just SEA/Commonwealth level.
Surely with a world champion now, Singapore deserve to have it's own thread "Singapore Professional Players" like the other great nations.
LOL. Haven't you seen who represented Singapore in the past? this program has been going on for many years already.
Badminton: Singaporeans, sports community celebrate Loh Kean Yew's feat National shuttler Grace Chua (in red) watching teammate Loh Kean Yew in the Badminton World Federation World Championships final with her parents David and Teo Ee Sin. PHOTO COURTESY OF GRACE CHUA Laura Chia PUBLISHED DEC 20, 2021, 2:09 AM SGT SINGAPORE - Some years ago, national shuttler Grace Chua sat next to teammate Loh Kean Yew on a plane and caught a glimpse of his mobile phone's wallpaper. It was a photo of his sporting goals in Chinese, one of which was to win an Olympic medal. At the time, while she recognised his determination, she also thought it rather ambitious. But his recent run, including becoming world champion on Sunday night (Dec 19), has been nothing but inspiring. Loh upset Indian world No. 14 Srikanth Kidambi 21-15, 22-20 in Huelva, Spain, to win the men's singles final at the World Championships. Chua, 25, who has trained with Loh since they were teenagers, said: "This shows his true determination and dedication as an athlete... I hope his recent achievements have inspired aspiring shuttlers to be brave and pursue their sporting dreams." Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) president Lawrence Leow said Loh's feat has brought much joy to the nation. He added: "Kean Yew's athletic talent is without doubt. His best years are ahead of him. However, what is more valuable is his ability to stay focused, his resilience when the odds are stacked against him, his flexibility to improvise mid-game, and his consistency and fighting spirit throughout the games. "He has really matured as an athlete. And he has proven to be an inspirational figure, not just to Singapore badminton but to other sports as well." Indeed. Former Singapore Slingers basketballer Ng Han Bin has been watching Loh's matches in recent tournaments, including staying up past 4am for the semi-final match. Ng, 32, said: "It's exciting to see a fellow Singaporean breaking boundaries through his years of hard work and dedication. "It was so exciting to the point that I need to calm myself down before being able to fall asleep. National diver Jonathan Chan (bottom right) watching Loh Kean Yew in the Badminton World Federation World Championships final with his family. PHOTO COURTESY OF JONATHAN CHAN "I always believe we are capable of performing on the world's stage and I'm proud of KY for showing us that it is indeed possible. Thank you for teaching us to dream big and always hold on to our dreams." Diver Jonathan Chan, who watched the final with his family, agreed, adding: "He is the prime example of someone who loves his sport and puts in all the hard work. Anything is possible if you love it and work hard." Three-time Olympic shooter Lee Wung Yew hailed Loh for his tenacity and self-belief, calling him the giant slayer. Lee, 55, said: "The boy does not give up. It is his fighting spirit that made fans out of many of my kakis (pals). "Someone like him comes about once in a long, long time - to say it is exciting is an understatement." MORE ON THIS TOPIC Singapore's Loh Kean Yew is badminton world champion Thanks Loh Kean Yew for a wild ride we'll never forget On Facebook, Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community Development and Youth, praised Loh for his "great work", writing: "Our World Champion. What a match! Such superb play, deft flicks and drops and such great mental fortitude." Singapore National Olympic Council president Tan Chuan-Jin congratulated Loh, his coaching team, the SBA and the badminton community for the achievement. He said: "I've been following Kean Yew's progress and he has been improving steadily. "I wish him the best in his journey ahead, and hope to see him flying Singapore's flag high at the upcoming major Games and the 2024 Olympic Games. Stay grounded and keep working hard." Another who noted Loh's progress since the Tokyo Olympics was former shuttler and two-time Olympian Derek Wong. The 32-year-old said: "Kean Yew has matured a lot in his game play and built up well in his long rallies learning from the Tokyo Olympics. Not only that but he worked on converting his great defensive to offensive with master precision. "Aspiring athletes must look towards Kean Yew as a role model and strive for the same kind of master level of play and compete at this world stage with the same kind of mentality, not forgetting the mountains of training and coping with performance ups and downs." MORE ON THIS TOPIC From Ang Mo Kio to Penang, Loh Kean Yew's family cheers youngest on at world champs Five big moments in Singapore sports National player Jaslyn Hooi, who won the Polish Open in October, said she was happy for Loh, adding: "He put up a consistently high-level performance and managed to beat so many top players. It is exhilarating watching him play on court. "All the blood, sweat and tears he has put in so far have been fruitful and I can only imagine how much more he can bring with that same amount of passion and grit." On social media, members of the public also saluted Loh, with Facebook user Fred Fred writing that Loh made "all Singaporeans proud when the Majulah Singapura ... was played". Mark Sim, also commenting on The Straits Times' post added: "You... won a championship which even the great lcw (Malaysian legend Lee Chong Wei) could not. And you did it on your first try. Amazing!!"
We do have minor successes in MD and XD recently but our players are not ranked high compared to LKY and YJM. But a "Singapore Professional Players" thread will generate more interest and perhaps inspire our lesser-known players to improve their game and turn professional.
Agree.... Thanks Mr Loh for updating each individual player thread and also the Singapore badminton scene thread. It takes a lot of effort.
Malaysia's badminton great Rashid Sidek says country needs to learn from Loh Kean Yew's success with Singapore Malaysia's badminton great Rashid Sidek says country needs to learn from Loh Kean Yew's success with Singapore - TODAY (todayonline.com) AFP Singapore's Loh Kean Yew celebrates on the podium after winning the men's singles final badminton match at the Badminton World Championships in Huelva, Spain on Dec 19, 2021. BY BRYAN NG Published December 21, 2021 Updated December 21, 2021 WhatsAppTelegramFacebookTwitterEmailLinkedIn SINGAPORE — Malaysia's former national badminton coach Rashid Sidek said that Malaysia needs to draw lessons from Penang-born shuttler Loh Kean Yew's historic win for Singapore, after Loh became the first Singaporean to win the Badminton World Championship men's singles title this week. Mr Rashid, 53, told Malaysia's New Straits Times (NST) newspaper: "We (Malaysia) definitely need to learn from this, as perhaps Singapore is more transparent in their players' selection and they do give their players a chance to progress. "It's definitely a tough pill to swallow as Singapore now has a world champion while we are still waiting for our first." Loh grew up in Penang, Malaysia and was coached at the Penang Badminton Association until he was 12, when he was accepted into the Singapore Sports School. The 24-year-old shuttler, who is now a Singapore citizen, has grabbed headlines with his recent string of victories that culminated in him becoming the first Singaporean to win a badminton world championship title. He has beaten childhood friend and Malaysia's world number seven Lee Zii Jia twice. Loh also lately prevailed over the likes of Denmark pair Viktor Axelsen and Anders Antonsen, and most recently, India’s Srikanth Kidambi in the world championship final. READ ALSO 'He had that spark': Mentor, badminton association on what made Loh Kean Yew a world champ Mr Rashid said in the NST article, published on Tuesday, that there was too much pressure on Malaysia’s badminton players compared with those from Singapore. "Perhaps, there was also less pressure (on Loh) as well, him being from Singapore and no one really focused on him that much,” Mr Rashid wrote. "I believe our players here (in Malaysia) have too much pressure from all parties, the fans included, and that in turn affects their performance.” Widely regarded as one of the badminton greats of Malaysia, Mr Rashid made history himself when he won the Thomas Cup in 1992, ending his country’s 25-year barren run in the global badminton competition. His win remains Malaysia’s most recent in that tournament, which takes place every two years. He added: "To put it in perspective, Kean Yew is only 24 and has ample time for growth, while in Malaysia, a 24-year-old like (shuttler Cheam) June Wei is out of the national team. READ ALSO Loh Kean Yew becomes first Singaporean to win World Championship men's singles title "If we do not have a large pool of players, then perhaps we shouldn't be too fast in dropping players, because we also need quality players to keep pushing Zii Jia,” Mr Rashid said, adding that Malaysia may need to be more patient with its players going forward. Last month, NST published an article lamenting the loss of badminton talent to Singapore in recent years. It pointed out that Singapore’s top male and female badminton players, Loh and Yeo Jia Min, as well as other national players have links to Malaysia.
The difference between SBA and BAM can be seen as night and day. SBA have people in management that actually can think critically, open to changes/methods to get better results and have a proper gameplan to hopefully execute in targeted events. The only missing ingredient is the capability and talent of the players to meet that objective. You can have the best strategy or mind games in the world but if your players are not up to scratch, nothing will work. They actually are very supportive of Loh Kean Yew training in Denmark club and Dubai for a short while with Axelsen to improve his game! Hey, whatever works works right? BAM is the complete opposite. Run by people who lack critical thinking and have zero gameplan. Don't even know how to think of a bigger picture and do not know the meaning of carefully selecting tournaments that really matter the most. When players do not perform, they are dropped immediately without any contingency plan.
Maybe MAS can afford to drop players as there are many more standing in the wings. That is a luxury that SGP doesn't have.