Chinese badminton stars Chen Yufei and Shi Yuqi showcased impressive performances on Thursday, securing their spots in the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Open in Jakarta.
In the women’s singles, fifth-seeded Chen Yufei dominated Japan’s Natsuki Nidaira with a straight-game victory of 21-9, 21-14. Chen, the defending champion, will face third seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the next round. Yamaguchi advanced after defeating Sung Shuo-yun of Chinese Taipei 21-12, 21-17.
Another thrilling match saw Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong overcome India’s Sindhu Pusarla in a grueling three-game battle, finishing 20-22, 21-10, 21-18 after one hour and 18 minutes on the court.
On the men’s side, top-seeded Shi Yuqi of China eased past Japan’s Yushi Tanaka with a convincing 21-14, 21-7 win. Shi will next compete against compatriot Wang Zhengxing in an all-Chinese quarterfinal. Wang secured his spot by eliminating Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke 21-19, 21-5.
Denmark’s third-seeded Anders Antonsen fought hard to defeat Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan 21-16, 18-21, 21-14, ending the home player’s hope. Meanwhile, second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand advanced smoothly by beating Lee Chia-hao of Chinese Taipei 21-10, 21-17.
France’s rising star Alex Lanier made a remarkable comeback to defeat Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew 16-21, 21-14, 21-8, securing his place in the last eight. Lee Cheuk Yiu of China’s Hong Kong caused an upset by overcoming Indonesia’s fifth seed Jonatan Christie 12-21, 21-12, 21-10, much to the surprise of the home crowd.
