Playing against the drift, Chou did well to execute his game plan and elicit unforced errors from Loh to take down the first game.
The tide turned with the change of ends in the second game, as Loh played an almost flawless net game, as Chou virtually threw in the towel to conserve energy for the decider.
Loh, who won his first BWF World Tour title at this event after beating Chinese great Lin Dan in the 2019 final, took the early initiative in the third game, firing sizzling winners almost at will.
But it all went downhill for the 26-year-old after he smashed into the net to give Chou a 9-8 lead.
Trailing 13-16, Loh rushed a winner at the net which was ruled a foul by the umpire and instead of a two-point deficit, he was down 13-17. That moment perhaps played on his mind as he was hesitant on another point later and could not build any momentum in the closing stages.
He saved one match point, and on the second, retrieved four smashes from Chou but not the fifth, losing his fifth successive final since becoming world champion.
Loh earned US$7,980 in prize money but the wait goes on for a third World Tour title. He said: “We can’t change the call from the umpire, so we just have to focus on the next point. Overall, I have to continue to stay focused on the process and stay patient. The results will come when we are ready for it.”
Along with his teammates, his next assignment is the Feb 13-19 Badminton Asia Team Championships in Malaysia. The men’s team are in Group C with Japan, Thailand and Myanmar, while the women’s team are in Group Z with Japan and Chinese Taipei.
National singles assistant coach Loh Wei Sheng said: “Kean Yew played well in this tournament. His concentration level and fighting spirt were good throughout.
“Overall, he showed some improvement on his front court execution. He managed to execute good quality shot through the front court to create chances to attack. He showed some improvement on his back court attack as well with more variations.
“He needs to improve more on his mental strength. During crucial moments, he needs to be more decisive and confident with his game play. We will work hard on fixing the weaknesses during training and fight again in the coming tournaments.”
In the other keenly contested finals on Jan 4, Japan’s Aya Ohori beat Thai Suanida Katethong 18-21, 21-17, 21-13 to claim the women’s singles crown, while Chinese duo He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu beat Thais Peeratchai Sukphun and Pakkapon Teeraratsakul 16-21, 21-14, 21-13 for the men’s doubles title. The home crowd, however, could celebrate wins in the women’s and mixed doubles final.
