Singapore shuttler Loh Kean Yew guaranteed historic Asian Games medal after winning world number 1 Jonatan Christie
Singapore shuttler Loh Kean Yew is assured of a historic Asian Games medal after beating world number one Jonatan Christie in the men's singles last eight on Sunday (Sept 27).He beat the Indonesian player 21-14, 21-19, at the Ichinomiya City Municipal Gymnasium, to book his place in the semi-finals.The win is also Loh's first over Christie in 11 meetings.The 29-year-old will next face Japan's Kodai Naroka (number seven) or South Korea's Yoo Tae-bin (number 46) in the semi-finals at the same venue on Monday.As per the standard practice in many major international badminton tournaments, there is no bronze medal match in the competition, with both losing semi-finalists awarded bronze.The Republic's only badminton medal at the Asian Games was the women's team bronze at the 2006 Doha Games.Loh's performance at the Games marks an upswing following a mid-season slump caused by an abdominal injury in June that caused him to bow out in the Round of 16 at the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Championship in August and the 2026 China Masters in September.