Three Chinese and a Dane in men’s singles semi-finals
It was the last match of the day at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil but Chinese ace Lin Dan put up a classy show for the fans to stay on course for his first ever Malaysian Open title when he made Friday’s semi-finals with a thrilling 11-21, 21-16, 21-13 win over compatriot Tian Houwei in a 71 minute quarter-final match.
Lin Dan’s reward is a semi-final encounter against Europe’s hope Jan O Jorgensen – Denmark’s top shuttler who is ranked No 2 in the world. The second seeded Dane ended the aspiration for Hong Kong when he beat Wei Nan 21-9, 21-15 while top seed Chen Long made short work of Japan’s Kento Momota with a 21-16, 21-11 victory.
In the other all-China quarter-final tie, Wang Zhengming defeated Xue Song 21-16, 21-16 to setup another all-China semi-final affair against All-England winner Chen Long, the current world champion and world No. 1.
Lin Dan, seeded No 5 in the tournament, is back in Kuala Lumpur after a two year absence is tipped to win his first ever Malaysia Open title in the absence of defending champion Datuk Lee Chong – who has won the title 10 times with the last seven coming in consecutive years.
RESULTS
MEN’S SINGLES QUARTER-FINALS
Jan Jorgensen (Den) beat Wei Nan (Hkg) 21-9, 21-15
Lin Dan (Chn) beat Tian Houwei (Chn) 11-21, 21-16, 21-13
Wang Zhengming (Chn) beat Xue Song (Chn) 21-16, 21-16
Chen Long (Chn) beat Kento Mmomota (Jpn) 21-16, 21-11
