Loh Kean Yew took silver in the men's singles badminton final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on 29 September, losing 12-21, 16-21 to Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn at Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium and delivering Singapore's best-ever result in the sport at the Games.
Kunlavut, who became world number one on the day of the final, controlled the pace from the opening rally. Loh, ranked 13th, had knocked out Indonesia's Jonatan Christie in the quarter-finals to end a 10-match losing streak against the former Asian Games champion, then beat South Korea's Yoo Tae-bin in a 69-minute semi-final to reach the title match.
How the final unfolded
Channel News Asia's courtside report described Kunlavut taking the first game in 20 minutes with aggressive net play that forced Loh wide on the backhand. Loh rallied early in the second game but could not sustain pressure against Kunlavut's cross-court smashes. The Thai player, already a world champion and Olympic silver medallist, bowed to the crowd after match point while Loh received the silver medal on the podium beside him.
Kunlavut's victory made him the first Thai man to win Asian Games singles gold. China left Nagoya without a men's singles medal after defending champion Li Shifeng and Shi Yuqi exited early in the draw.
What the run means at home
Loh's path revived interest in badminton at ActiveSG halls after years when football and swimming dominated Games headlines. His semi-final win guaranteed at least silver, surpassing any prior individual performance from Singapore at the Asian Games. Sports Singapore officials had targeted podium finishes in Nagoya; the badminton medal joins swimming silvers in the 2026 haul.
Mediacorp's mewatch carried the final live for residents who stayed up for the Tuesday evening broadcast. Highlights circulated on TikTok and YouTube within minutes, a distribution pattern local coaches hope converts into youth enrollment at Bukit Gombak Sports Hall programmes.
Schedule ahead
Loh has not announced his next tournament in post-match interviews filed on 29 September. Kunlavut told reporters the Asian Games title was his first singles crown since the January Malaysia Open. Both players will shift focus to the world tour season ending in December, when ranking points tighten ahead of 2027 seeding.
For Singapore fans, the immediate memory is the Christie quarter-final: the moment Loh proved he could beat Asia's top-ranked players on a multi-sport stage, even if Kunlavut was a class above on the final day.