Taiwanese badminton players Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Friday put in a strong performance to advance to the men’s doubles semi-finals at the BWF German Open after besting their Japanese opponents 2-0.
It took Lee and Yang just 33 minutes to beat Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi 21-15, 21-19 at the Westenergie Sporthalle in Mulheim.
The Taiwanese duo got off to a strong start, leading their opponents 7-1 in the game 1 before pulling ahead 19-8. Although the Japanese narrowed the gap, Lee and Yang secured the two points to seal the first game.
In the second, the lead changed hands multiple times, but Lee and Yang edged ahead after it was 17-17 and closed out the match.
Ranked 28th in the men’s doubles world rankings, the Taiwanese pair last encountered Hoki and Kobayashi, ranked fourth in the world, in the quarter-finals at the Hylo Open in Germany, where they also won.
They were to play Kang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae of South Korea in the semi-finals, with that game scheduled to start at about press time last night.
The pair are the only Taiwanese still in the German Open, after Lin Chun-yi and Lee Chia-hao lost in the men’s singles quarter-finals on Friday, while Wang Chi-lin and Chang Ko-chi were also defeated in the men’s doubles quarter-finals.
Taiwan’s top male and female singles shuttlers Chou Tien-chen, Tai Tzu-ying and Wang Tzu-wei skipped the Mulheim tournament to concentrate on the BWF All England Open Badminton Championships which are to begin on Tuesday.
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