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Zhu Lin through to semi-finals after victory over Hirose

Badminton world champion Zhu Lin overturned a two-match losing streak against Japan's Eriko Hirose to reach the Hong Kong Open semi-finals yesterday.

The Chinese world No. 3 registered a convincing 21-14, 21-10 win after an evening spent watching the 13th-ranked Hirose in action against Hong Kong's Zhou Mi.

"She's beaten me this year so I prepared well for this match," said Zhu, seeking her first tournament win since sealing the world title in August. "I studied her match last night, that's why I got into the game quickly. I was quite happy with my performance but I still need to improve my fitness and overall ability."

Zhu has lost twice to Hirose in badminton's inaugural Super Series but made no mistake here, bamboozling the Japanese with her sharply angled drops and finishing with a tumbling shot over the net.

Zhu will play either Jun Jae-youn, who stunned Olympic champion Zhang Ning in round two, or Salakjit Ponsana in today's semi-finals.

Earlier Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro's campaign ended in a straight-games hammering by world No. 4 Chen Jin.

The seventh seed had sauntered through the opening rounds but he met his match in the faultless Swiss and Macau Open champion, who rode his sharp overheads and precision drops to an convincing 21-8, 21-6 victory.
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