Loh Kean Yew (Photo by TanDavidPhotography)
Former World Champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore stunned newly crowned Malaysian Open champion Kunlavut Vitidsran of Thailand to storm into the semi-finals of the India Open badminton championships in New Delhi.
He registered his first victory over Kunlavut since 2015, winning a thrilling three-setter 14-21, 21-15, 21-17.
Kean Yew will take on Indonesian veteran Jonatan Christie, who disposed of BWF World Tour champion Christo Popov of France 21-19, 21-19 in his quarter-final match-up.
It was sweet revenge for the Indonesian who was beaten at both his previous two meetings against Popov, at the China Open and the World Championships last year.
Victor Lai, who was the first Canadian to win a medal at the World Championships with his semi-final appearance last year, is also through to the semi-finals.
In a battle between two unseeded players, he edged out Taiwanese Chi Yu Jen 21-18, 17-21, 21-15 to book his semi-final berth against surprise package Lin Chun-yi of Chinese Taipei.
Chun-yi sprang an upset by defeating India’s Lakshya Sen 17, 21, 21-13, 21-18.
The women’s singles will see familiar protagonists looking to assert their dominance, none more determined than top ranked An Se-young. The Korean superstar, who came into the Indian Open with the Malaysian Open title in the bag, was in devastating form in the quarter-finals.
She disposed of Indonesian ace Putri Kusuma Wardani 21-16, 21-8 and will take on Thailand’s former world champion Ratchanok Intanon in the semi-finals.
Ratchanok, defeated American Zhang Beiwen 21-16, 21-12. The seventh seed will need to up her game if she harbours any hopes of making the finals.
The other semi-finals will be an all-Chinese affair between second seeded Wang Zhiyi and Chen Yufei.
Zhiyi, who was beaten by Se-young at the Malaysian Open finals, came back from a set down to beat Japan’s Natsuki Nidaira 20-22, 21-13, 21-9 while Yufei (Chn) beat teammate Han Yue 21-8, 21-18.
QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS
Men’s Singles: Loh Kean Yew (Sgp) bt Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) 14-21, 21-15, 21-17; Lin Chun-yi (Tpe) bt Laksyha Sen (Ind) 17-21, 21-13, 21-18; Jonatan Christie (Ina) bt Christo Popov (Fra) 21-19, 21-19; Victor Lai (Can) bt Chi Yu Jen (Tpe) 21-18, 17-21, 21-15
Men’s Doubles: Hiroki Midorikawa-Kyohei Yamashita (Jpn) bt Liu Kuang Heng-Yang Po Han (Tpe) 21-16, 21-18; Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (Mas) bt Lee Jhe-Huei-Yang Po-Hsuan (Tpe) 21-19, 21-14; Kang Min-hyuk-Ki Dong-ju (Kor) bt Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi (Jpn) 21-18, 14-21, 21-18; Liang Weikeng-Wang Chang (Chn) Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun (Mas) 21-15, 15-21, 21-19
Women’s Singles: Wang Zhi Yi (Chn) Natsuki Nidaira (Jpn) 20-22, 21-13, 21-9; An Se-young (Kor) bt Putri Kusuma Wardani (Ina) 21-16, 21-8; Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) bt Zhang Beiwen (USA) 21-16, 21-12; Chen Yufei (Chn) bt Han Yue (Chn) 21-8, 21-18
Women’s Doubles: Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee (Kor) bt Hsu Ya Ching-Sun Yu-Hsuan (Tpe) 21-19, 21-9; Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto (Jpn) bt Jeong Na-eun-Lee Yeon-woo (Kor) 21-10, 21-11; Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan (Mas) bt Hsieh Pei Shan-Hung En-Tzu (Tpe) 21-16, 21-10; Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning (Chn) bt Li Yijing-Luo Xumin (Chn) 21-14, 21-15
Mixed Doubles: Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin (Chn) bt Yuichi Shimogami-Sayaka Hobara (Jpn) 25-23, 21-18; Mathias Christiansen-Alexandre Boje (Den) bt Guo Xinwa-Chen Fanghui (Chn) 21-13, 14-21, 21-11; Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping (Chn) bt Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Jemie Lai (Mas) 21-19, 19-21, 21-18; Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran (Tha) bt Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue (Fra) 21-16, 21-5
