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Frenchman Lanier breaks local hearts to win Singapore Open badminton / Photo: © AFP
Frenchman Lanier breaks local hearts to win Singapore Open badminton
France's Alex Lanier dashed Loh Kean Yew's hopes of becoming the first Singaporean in more than six decades to win his national badminton title, beating the home favourite in the Singapore Open men's singles final on Sunday.
The Frenchman, unfazed by the partisan home crowd, defeated Loh 17-21, 21-15, 21-14.
Lanier secured his second BWF World Tour title of the year, denying the crowd its first local champion since Wee Choon Seng in 1962.
"I knew that I needed to fight really hard and was determined to do that," the 21-year-old Frenchman said.
Lanier regained control of the second game after losing the first and raced to a 13-5 lead, before Loh narrowed the deficit to 13-11.
He admitted to losing focus but managed to steady himself and close out the game and force a decider.
Lanier then took command of the third game, never relinquishing the lead.
In the women's singles final, world number one An Se Young of South Korea overcame stiff resistance from Japan's Akane Yamaguchi to win 21-11, 17-21, 21-19.
An seized the early initiative before Yamaguchi fought back to win the second game.
The 24-year-old appeared on the brink of defeat when trailing 16-19 before she reeled off five consecutive points to complete a dramatic victory.
It was her fourth individual win of the year and also her third Singapore Open crown, having lifted the trophy in 2023 and 2024.
"I was impatient in the second game and tried to finish the match too early," An said. "But in the third game, I told myself to stay calm and focus on winning each point. That approach paid off."
Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian defeated Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning 22-20, 21-19 in an all-Chinese women's doubles final.
The Danish pair of Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Boje beat Japan's Yuichi Shimogami and Sayaka Hobara 17-21, 21-12, 21-12 to win the mixed doubles title.
India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty secured the men's doubles title with an 18-21, 21-17, 21-16 defeated of Indonesian pair Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri.
G.Collins--SFF
