Men’s badminton world No. 2 Chou Tien-chen yesterday marched into the semi-finals of the Thailand Open, defeating younger opponent Lee Zii-jia 21-17, 21-15 after a rally, while Tai Tzu-ying had no trouble getting past her Canadian opponent in the women’s singles.
The top male Taiwanese credited calm and focus in securing his win after briefly falling behind against his 22-year-old Malaysian opponent.
“I think I had more patience against him and I won most of the long rallies,” the 31-year-old Chou said of Lee.
Photo: AFP / BADMINTON ASSOCIATION OF THAILAND
“He wanted to attack [too much] and maybe he lost some focus,” Chou said.
In today’s semi-finals, second-seeded Chou faces Angus Ng, ranked eighth in the world, after the Hong Kong player handily defeated teammate Lee Cheuk-yiu 21-17, 21-12.
In the women’s singles, Tai faces Mia Blichfeldt — who beat Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-13, 21-18 — in today’s semi-finals after the world No. 1 ousted Michelle Li in just 28 minutes, winning 21-11, 21-13.
Photo courtesy of the Badminton Association of Thailand via CNA
Tai used streaks of seven and eight points in the first and second games respectively to dominate world No. 10 Li, who could only defend one game point on Court 1 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok.
In the men’s doubles, Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin beat the Malaysian duo of Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi 23-21, 21-15.
The match lasted 42 minutes, with The Taiwanese pair surviving one game point in the first game before converting on their second.
Photo courtesy of the Badminton Association of Thailand via CNA
The second game was more one-sided as Lee and Wang set up a semi-final against Choi Sol-gyu and Seo Seung-jae of South Korea, who advanced with a 21-16, 21-19 win over the Indonesian pairing of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan.
The Thailand Open is the first of three consecutive tournaments held in Bangkok culminating in the World Tour Finals from Jan. 27.
The athletes — who were flown in a week before the start for quarantine and testing — are competing behind closed doors as a precaution amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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