Taiwan’s badminton ace Chou Tien-chen stayed hot as he secured a semi-final berth in the men’s singles at the US Open at Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Friday.
Chou entered the Super 300 tournament as the top seed and breezed past Victor Lai of Canada 21-19, 21-8 in 37 minutes, advancing to the semi-finals for the second straight tournament.
Earlier this month, the 35-year-old veteran finished runner-up at the Indonesia Open, becoming the oldest male shuttler to reach a Super 1000-level final.
Photo: CNA
He was set to face Ayush Shetty of India last night after press time for a spot in the final.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old Taiwanese prospect Liao Jhuo-fu also secured a spot in the men’s singles semi-finals by upsetting Japan’s second-seeded Kenta Nishimoto 21-18, 21-8.
That victory saw the world No. 76 Liao clinch his first semi-final berth in a Super 300-level tournament. His semi-final opponent is Canada’s Brian Yang, ranked No. 33 in the world.
Also on Friday, Taiwanese male duos secured all four semi-final spots, the first time since 2010.
He Zhi-wei and Huang Jui-hsuan saw off US duo Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith in a 29-minute quarter-final, ending with a 21-15, 21-15 victory.
Meanwhile, Lai Po-yu and Tsai Fu-cheng faced fellow Taiwanese Chen Zhi-ray and Lin Yu-chieh, with Lai and Tsai securing the semi-final spot with 21-16, 21-11.
Also that evening, Chiang Chien-wei and Wu Hsuan-yi knocked out the Indian team of Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi in half an hour, securing another Taiwanese semi-final spot with 21-9, 21-19.
Chen Cheng-kuan and Lin Bing-wei followed that up by defeating Danish pair Rasmus Espersen and Andreas Sondergaard 21-19, 21-15.
The feat was matched by three Taiwanese female pairings who advanced to the semi-finals.
Chang Ching-hui and Yang Ching-tun secured the first slot in the semi-finals by beating fellow Taiwanese Chen Yan-fei and Sun Liang-ching 22-20, 21-14.
That was quickly followed by Hsu Yin-hui and Lin Jhih-yun holding off Americans Lauren Lam and Allison Lee in a 53-minute 20-22, 21-13, 21-7 best of three.
The third Taiwanese duo in the women’s doubles semi-finals was then secured by Hsu Ya-ching and Sung Yu-hsuan, who defeated US duo Audrey Chang and Jasmine Yeung 21-14, 21-17.
Taiwan’s last title in US Open women’s doubles was in 2010.
Taiwan also secured one berth in the mixed doubles semi-final after Chen Cheng-kuan and Hsu Yin-hui defeated Germans Marvin Seidel and Thuc Phuong Nguyen 21-16, 21-17.
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