After being crowned badminton's newest world champion, Loh Kean Yew can dream of Olympic glory next

WHEN Singapore's top-ranked badminton player Loh Kean Yew was crowned the sport's newest world champion on Sunday (Dec 19), the 24-year-old's stunning achievement drew a distinct parallel with the heroics of the late Singapore shuttler Wong Peng Soon .

When Loh executed "the clear" - the trademark lob to the baseline which Wong proffers with black-and-white images on Google - he left his World Badminton Federation Championships final opponent, India' Kidambi Srikkanth, confused and stranded at mid-court, gaining the final point he needed to etch his name in the history books as the sport's newest superstar.

After a frenetic 43 minutes during which he once trailed 9-3 in the first game, the unseeded Loh put on a masterful and gritty showing to win in straight sets.