Singaporean shuttler Loh Kean Yew beat top-seeded Indian Lakshya Sen in 36 minutes to win the Dutch Open singles title in Almere on Sunday, Oct. 17.

Loh, 24, the second seed, finished the game with 21-12, 21-16 straight set wins and walked away with a €1,200 (S$1,900) cheque.

This is his first international tournament in two years.

Previously, Sen, 20 beat Loh in the second round of the 2019 China Masters.

This is Loh's sixth international title, and his first since 2019.

That year, he beat the legendary Lin Dan in the Thailand Masters final.

Loh is ranked 41st in the world, while Sen is 25th.

Not an easy victory

Loh said: “It was not as easy as it looked, especially in the earlier rounds because I took time to get used to the environment and lighting."

He explained that the seats and the shuttlecock were both white, but conditions got better when more fans showed up towards the end.

He added that this victory is a "big motivation" and he wants "to gain more points to climb up the world rankings" to compete in bigger tournaments, Loh said.

Prior to this tournament, Loh trained for one month with Denmark’s Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in Dubai from August to September.

Sen was also part of Axelsen’s entourage.

Following that stint, Loh trained with the French national team at the National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance near Paris for the next three weeks.

Busy rest of the year

Loh will remain in Europe.

He is set to play in three more tournaments: The Denmark Open, French Open and Hylo Open in Germany.

After which he is going to Indonesia for two events.

Following that, he will go back to Spain for the world championships in December.

Top photos via Singapore Badminton Association & Team Singapore Facebook