SINGAPORE – Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew is one win away from clinching his second Badminton World Federation World Championships medal, after coming from behind to beat Japan’s eighth-ranked Kodai Naraoka 5-21, 21-19, 21-19 in the men’s singles round of 16 on Aug 28.

The 28-year-old will meet Canada’s 50th-ranked Victor Lai – the 20-year-old Pan Am champion who is the lowest-ranked player remaining in the draw – in the quarter-finals on Aug 29. Another victory at the Adidas Arena in Paris would secure at least a bronze medal for either player.

Returning from a bacterial infection that left him bedridden for weeks and kept him out of international competition in July, world No. 9 Loh had to suffer before he survived.

He told The Straits Times: “It was a tough match and a lot went on on the court. (Naraoka) played very well in the first game and I couldn’t follow the pace.

“I picked up the pace a little in the second game and I’m glad it worked. It was very intense and crucial in the third game and it could have been anyone’s game at the end and I’m happy and relieved to come away with the win.”

In his comeback tournament in the French capital, Loh had made slow starts in his triumphs over Mauritian Julien Paul and Finn Kalle Koljonen in the earlier rounds.

But it got worse against Naraoka, whom he had beaten in all six previous encounters. The Singaporean slumped to a 21-5 loss in a one-sided opening game as he struggled in their mid-court battles.

Yet, the momentum shifted just as quickly and wildly in the second game as Loh played a more proactive yet patient game.

Curiously, Naraoka’s service then went to pieces, as Loh took advantage and pounced on his drive serves. Still, the Japanese managed to catch up and level the scores seven times before Loh put the game to bed.

The decider was equally nerve-racking, as 2023 silver medallist Naraoka resorted to forehand high serves, which gave him an 11-7 lead.

But the brief respite deserted him after the interval, as Loh found his confidence and charged ahead to an 18-14 lead.

There was more drama as Naraoka made it 19-19, only for Loh to respond with an instinctive winner from a body shot and a lucky match point when his opponent punched a nervy serve into the net.

National singles coach Kim Ji-hyun told ST: “Kodai suddenly changed tactics early in the first game, causing Kean Yew to rush instead of remaining calm, thus resulting in many mistakes.

“I reminded him to keep it simple and remember everything we did at training. Moving forward, he needs to focus on reducing his unforced errors.”

Naraoka admitted that he was feeling nervous, saying: “It was a match where I simply lost on my serve. My opponent was putting pressure on me, and he was coming at me quite a bit, so even a slight off-centre serve would have been dangerous. Maybe it was a lack of confidence.”

Loh, the 2021 world champion, will next meet world championship debutant Lai, who had defeated China’s world No. 11 Lu Guangzu and 38th-ranked South Korean Jeon Hyeok-jin earlier.

While his path to another world championship medal opened up following early exits for China’s world No. 4 Li Shifeng and Lu in his quarter of the draw, Loh is not taking a victory over an unheralded rival for granted.

He said: “My experience helps to a certain extent, but it still depends on how we perform during the moment. Every player who has come this far deserves to be here and cannot be underestimated, so we will try to stay focused and prepare our best.”

Also through was world No. 3 Kunlavut Vitidsarn, who edged out unseeded Indonesian Alwi Farhan 21-18, 18-21, 22-20 to keep alive his hopes of retaining the men’s singles crown.

However, several higher seeds fell in the women’s singles, with India’s 2019 world champion P. V. Sindhu rolling back the years to beat China’s world No. 2 Wang Zhiyi 21-19, 21-15.

Joining the 30-year-old in the last eight is South Korea’s 12th-ranked Sim Yu-jin, who overcame Indonesia’s world No. 7 Gregoria Tunjung 21-15, 21-18.

The top-ranked players also both progressed, albeit in contrasting fashion.

Men’s singles world No. 1 Shi Yuqi prevailed 20-22, 21-13, 21-18 over home favourite and 10th-ranked Christo Popov, while women’s singles defending champion An Se-young of South Korea defeated Canada’s 16th-ranked Michelle Li 21-18, 21-10.

More on this topic