KUALA LUMPUR: National badminton women’s singles player, Goh Jin Wei’s diligence and persistence paid off when she advanced to the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open after pulling out all the stops to beat sixth seed Han Yue from China in their quarter-final match in Hong Kong Coliseum, Kowloon yesterday.
Jin Wei spent 52 minutes doing battle on court against the Chinese, as the match stretched to three sets before winning 12-21, 21-17, 21-18, setting up a semi-final match against unseeded Zhang Yi Man of China, who brushed aside her compatriot Wang Zhi Yi’s challenge, winning 21-17, 21-17 in another quarter-final match.
Fellow Malaysian, national men’s singles player, Ng Tze Yong, also qualified for the semi-finals, after beating Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen 21-18, 21-12 in the quarter-finals, but will be up against fifth seeded Indonesian Jonatan Christie, who beat Taiwanese Lee Chia Hao 21-19, 21-18 in another quarter-final match.
In the mixed doubles event, Malaysians Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie booked their place in the semi-finals as well, brushing aside Indonesian pair, Rinov Rivaldy-Pitha Haningtyas Mentari 21-10 21-18 in the quarter-finals.
They will play fourth seeds Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet after they downed second seeds Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue of France, 19-21, 21-9, 21-11.
Sadly, national men’s doubles pair Nur Izzuddin Rumsani-Goh Sze Fei failed to advance further in their event after they crashed out against eighth seeded Taiwanese pair, Lee Yang-Wang Chi Lin 19-21, 18-21 in their quarter-final match. – BERNAMA
