New Delhi: China’s Shi Yuqi and Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen entered the men’s singles final of the India Open here on Saturday.
Tien Chen dismantled the challenge of Qiao Bin of China 23-21, 21-16 in 59 minutes to enter his second successive India Open final while Yuqi overcame the spirited Malaysian Isqandar Zulkarnain 18-21, 21-10, 21-19. After losing the first game, fourth seed Yuqi claimed the second without much trouble. But with Zulqarnain, who defeated second seed Kidambi Srikanth in the pre-quarters, battling hard the 21-year-old Yuqi had to dig deep to gain control of the match.
At 20-18, Zulqarnain appeared down and out but he reduced the margin after a 42-shot rally.
However, Yuqi, who was the finalist at the 2017 All England Open Championship, sealed the game and match with a down-the-line smash.
In the women’s singles semi-final, fifth seed Beiwen Zhang fought back after being a game down to upstage sixth Cheung Ngan Yi of Hong Kong 14-21, 21-12, 21-19 to inch closer to her goal of winning a Superseries title in 2018.
The 27-year-old Zhang said after winning: “I have a habit of starting slowly. I forced her to make errors. I’m not suprised to be in the final.”
In women’s doubles, Indonesia’s Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu stunned Danish top seeds Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Christinna Pedersen 21-14, 19-21, 21-18 in a thriller that lasted for an hour and 21 minutes.
