Loh Kean Yew, Jason Teh to face each other in German Open quarter-final

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Singapore's top men's singles players Loh Kean Yew and Jason Teh have set up a tantalising clash - a first for the duo in a Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour event - after winning their respective German Open round-of-16 matches on Feb 27.

Both players did it the hard way by coming from behind to beat Malaysian opponents. World No. 15 Loh downed 56th-ranked Cheam June Wei 19-21, 21-13, 21-12 in 54 minutes, before 26th-ranked Teh outlasted 51st-ranked Justin Hoh 18-21, 21-19, 21-12 at the Westenergie Sporthalle in Mulheim.

Loh, seeded second behind Denmark's two-time Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, and Teh (fifth) will meet in the quarter-finals of the US$240,000 (S$323,000) Super 300 event on Feb 28 for a place in the top four.

Since making it to the Paris 2024 Olympics quarter-finals, Loh has been in a slump, winning just five out of 15 matches before the German Open and suffering six first-round exits in BWF World Tour events as he slipped out of the top 10.

There were some bright sparks in his campaign, as the 27-year-old qualified for the quarter-finals of two Super 750 events - the Denmark Open in October 2024 and the India Open in January.

At the German Open, he enjoyed a straightforward 21-13, 21-16 win over 62nd-ranked Frenchman Arnaud Merkle before overcoming a slow start against Cheam. From 10-15 down, Loh caught up to 17-17 but could not close out the opening game.

But he stepped up a gear, leaving his opponent struggling with the speed of his attacks as he clinched the next two games. Notably, this was Loh's first win in his last six matches that have gone to a decider.

He told The Straits Times: "While I'm happy to win today, there's still a lot more to work on.

"It's great to have two Singaporeans facing each other in the later stages of a World Tour tournament. No matter what happens, one of us will progress to the semi-finals and continue to represent Singapore, so that's a good thing. I hope we both can give fans a good show tomorrow."

Singapore's Jason Teh celebrates after winning his first international title by beating China's Wang Zhengxing in the Thailand Masters men's singles final on Feb 2.
Singapore's Jason Teh celebrates after winning his first international title by beating China's Wang Zhengxing in the Thailand Masters men's singles final on Feb 2. PHOTO: SINGAPORE BADMINTON ASSOCIATION 

On the other side of the net, Teh has been chalking up career-high rankings on the back of five finals in 2024 and winning his first World Tour title at the Super 300 Thailand Masters in February.

The 24-year-old has been in red-hot form in 2025, winning 11 out of 13 matches. At the German Open, he came from behind to beat Ireland's Nhat Nguyen in three games before repeating the feat against Hoh, who needed a medical timeout for his right leg in the second game. Impressively, Teh has won all of his six matches that have gone the distance in 2025.

In the women's singles, top seed and world No. 13 Yeo Jia Min breezed past Denmark's 61st-ranked Amalie Schulz 21-10, 21-18 in 27 minutes to set up a quarter-final meeting with Japan's world No. 45 Hina Akechi. She had earlier beaten Taiwanese world No. 58 Huang Yu-hsun 21-16, 21-18 in the first round.

However, in the mixed doubles, world No. 53 Terry Hee and Jin Yujia lost 15-21, 24-22, 21-19 to Malaysia's 34th-ranked Wong Tien Ci and Lim Chiew Sien in the first round on Feb 27.

David Lee for The Straits Times

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