Thread by @STsportsdesk

Big day for Singapore sports! BWF World Championships final day is underway and one of its own - Loh Kean Yew - is in the men's singles final. He plays India's Kidambi Srikanth for the world title and a huge slice of history. Match expected to start 10pm. straitstimes.com/sport/badminto…

The finals will be broadcast on StarHub Ch 201, and you can also follow our live updates here where we bring you all you need to know about Kean Yew and his road to the #BWFWorldChampionships2021 final

Our team are also at watch parties in Penang (with Kean Yew's parents and second brother Kean Wei), and Ang Mo Kio (with his third brother and national doubles player Kean Hean and friends) to follow and support him 💪🏽🏸️🏆

Sitting proudly on the family TV console is a picture of 11-year-old Kean Yew after beating Lee Zii Jia to become Malaysia's junior champion in 2009. Twelve years later, Zii Jia became All England champion. Can Kean Yew become the world champion?

Focus ah boy! And Kean Yew, better reply Mama Loh after the #BWFWorldChampionships final okay? 🤣

Kean Yew has a good appetite for the big occasion. In 2019, he beat Chinese legend Lin Dan in the Thailand Masters final.
straitstimes.com/sport/badminto…

"Set a goal, big enough for people to laugh at," was Kean Yew's message to his juniors after beating two-time #Olympic gold medallist and five-time world champion Lin Dan to win the 2019 Thailand Masters.

Nobody is laughing now. Knowing what he is capable of, Kean Yew has lofty ambitions of winning Singapore's first Olympic badminton medal. Tokyo 2020 may have come too early after the Covid-19 disruption but few should doubt it is possible at Paris 2024.
straitstimes.com/sport/olympics…

Recap of Kean Yew's remarkable #BWFWorldChampionships journey this week:
✅ 🇩🇰 No. 1 @viktoraxelsen 14-21, 21.9, 21-6
✅ 🇦🇹 No. 93 Luka Wraber 21-4, 21-8
✅ 🇹🇭 No. 20 Kantaphon Wangcharoen 21-4, 21-7
✅ 🇮🇳 No. 32 Prannoy H. S. 21-14, 21-12
✅ 🇩🇰 No. 3 Anders Antonsen 23-21, 21-14

Surely there's space for a #BWFWorldChampionships gold medal in this packed cabinet in his childhood home in Penang, where he was born 🏸🥇💪🏽

Here is where his badminton career started in Penang, with Kean Yew and his three brothers and parents using their gate as the net as they bonded over the sport ❤️🏸

Over at Ang Mo Kio, national doubles player Kean Hean is not really surprised at his brother's performances: "He's the kind of person who can pull off the unexpected." As Britney Spears sang, hit me baby one more time?

Maybe because he is also a national shuttler, but Kean Hean is a picture of cool ahead of his younger brother's #BWFWorldChampionships final, celebrating Winter Solstice with rice balls first before a big win later, hopefully?

It's almost time for the men's singles final! But first, here's a recap of the results of today's other #BWFWorldChampionships finals:
Mixed doubles - 🇹🇭 Dechapol Puavaranukroh/Sapsiree Taerattanachai beat 🇯🇵 Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino 21-13, 21-14

Women's singles - 🇯🇵 Akane Yamaguchi beat 🇹🇼 Tai Tzu-ying 21-14, 21-11

Women's doubles - 🇨🇳 Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan beat 🇰🇷 Lee So-hee/Shin Seung-chan 21-16, 21-17

Men's doubles - 🇯🇵 Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi beat 🇨🇳 He Jiting/Tan Qiang 21-12, 21-18

Recap of Kidambi's #BWFWorldChampionships run this week:
✅ 🇪🇸 No. 53 Pablo Abian 21-12, 21-16
✅ 🇨🇳 No. 63 Li Shifeng 15-21, 21-18, 21-17
✅ 🇨🇳 No. 27 Lu Guangzu 21-10, 21-15
✅ 🇳🇱 No. 28 Mark Caljouw 21-8, 21-7
✅ 🇮🇳 No. 19 Lakshya Sen 21-17, 14-21, 21-17