China's Shi, Lu enter men's singles semifinals at badminton Australian Open-Xinhua

China's Shi, Lu enter men's singles semifinals at badminton Australian Open

Source: Xinhua

Editor: huaxia

2022-11-18 20:03:30

Shi Yuqi (R) of China greets Loh Kean Yew of Singapore after men's singles quarterfinal match at the BWF Australian Open 2022 in Sydney, Australia, on Nov. 18, 2022. (Photo by Hu Jingchen/Xinhua)

SYDNEY, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- A clash between China's Shi Yuqi and Singapore's Loh Kean Yew took the limelight of the Australia Badminton Open on Friday, ending in Shi's 17-21, 21-16, 21-13 triumph over the tournament's second seed and the men's singles world No. 3 shuttler.

Earlier in November, Shi was knocked out of the 2022 BWF Hylo Open by Loh 21-5, 22-20.

Speaking of the just-concluded game, Shi told Xinhua that the result was beyond his expectation.

"Loh is a world champion with strong competence and I made sufficient preparation. I thought I would lose terribly. But when I withstood some of his attacks, I regained my confidence and extended my lead," said Shi.

Shi's compatriot Lu Guangzu also eased into the final four by overcoming Indonesia's Ikhsan Leonardo Imanuel Rumbay 21-12, 21-9.

In the women's singles quarterfinals, China's Han Yue recorded her maiden victory over fourth-seeded Nozomi Okuhara of Japan 21-17, 21-10. Okuhara had won all three previous encounters.

"As I had never defeated Okuhara before, I played the game with an approach of challenging her. So I became more daring to make some shots," Han told Xinhua.

The women's doubles sixth seed Zhang Shuxian and Zheng Yu of China got the better of the third-seeded Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota of Japan 14-21, 21-10, 21-19.

In the mixed doubles, China's duo Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping made it to the semifinals with a comfortable 21-7, 21-4 win over Indonesia's Adnan Maulana and Nita Violina Marwah.

China's men's doubles pair He Jiting and Zhou Haodong prevailed 21-19, 16-21, 21-17 over their compatriots Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang, while the eighth-seeded duo Liu Yuchen and Ou Xuanyi of China also booked their place in the semifinals after a hard-fought 22-20, 25-23 win over the second-seeded Lee Yang/Wang Chi-Lin of Chinese Taipei.

"We started the second set with a great lead. Our opponents later caught up with us and even took the lead, but we stuck to our own way and played point by point," said Liu.

Shi Yuqi of China reacts during men's singles quarterfinal match against Loh Kean Yew of Singapore at the BWF Australian Open 2022 in Sydney, Australia, on Nov. 18, 2022. (Photo by Hu Jingchen/Xinhua)

Loh Kean Yew of Singapore hits a return during men's singles quarterfinal match against Shi Yuqi of China at the BWF Australian Open 2022 in Sydney, Australia, on Nov. 18, 2022. (Photo by Hu Jingchen/Xinhua)

Shi Yuqi of China hits a return during men's singles quarterfinal match against Loh Kean Yew of Singapore at the BWF Australian Open 2022 in Sydney, Australia, on Nov. 18, 2022. (Photo by Hu Jingchen/Xinhua)

Shi Yuqi of China hits a return during men's singles quarterfinal match against Loh Kean Yew of Singapore at the BWF Australian Open 2022 in Sydney, Australia, on Nov. 18, 2022. (Photo by Hu Jingchen/Xinhua)