Singapore men’s team clinches bronze at 2022 Badminton Asia Team Championships

Singapore’s men have walked away from the Badminton Asia Team Championships 2022 with a joint bronze medal, after losing 3-2 to defending champions Indonesia in the semi-finals on Feb 19. 

This is the first time the Singapore team has won a medal in the history of the tournament, whereas Indonesia has won three times out of the four. The joint bronze medal is shared with South Korea, who lost to eventual champions Malaysia in the semi-finals.

The win means Singapore qualifies for the Thomas Cup 2022, the premier world men’s team championships for badminton. It is the third time Singapore’s team has qualified, the previous two being in 1986 and 2014. 

The Singapore team consists of nine players – Loh Kean Yew, Andy Kwek, Wesley Koh, Jason Teh, Danny Bawa Chrisnanta, Terry Hee, Joel Koh, Junsuke Kubo and Lim Ming Hong. 

World champion Loh Kean Yew won the first point for Singapore by beating Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo 21-17 and 21-19 in the first singles match. It was a close fight as the next few players won and lost alternating games. 

However, Danny Bawa Chrisnanta and Terry Hee were unable to maintain the lead and lost two games in the doubles with scores of 21-11 and 21-15.

In the deciding match, Joel Koh lost 21-11 and 21-14 to his opponent Christian Adinata, whose ranking is 71 places higher. This put Singapore on par with South Korea to receive the joint bronze medal as Indonesia advanced to the finals. 

The Badminton Asia Team Championships, which is in its fourth year running, was held in Selangor this year. A total of eight countries participated, namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, India, Japan, Korea, and Singapore.

The Thomas Cup will be held in Bangkok, Thailand from May 8 to May 15, 2022.