Chen Long, Son Wan, Axelsen, Liew Daren reach SFs of BWF Malaysia Masters

Speed Post News Network

Patna : World No 4 in Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings Chen Long, 29, China, World No 5 Son Wan Ho, 30, South Korea, World No 6 Viktor Axelsen, 25, Denmark, and World No 31 Liew Daren, 31, Malaysia, entered the semi-finals of BWF Malaysia Masters at Axiata Area, Kualalumpur, Malaysia, on January 18, 2019.

Reigning Olympic champion Chen Long beat World No 7 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, 22, Indonesia, 21-11, 22-20 in 49 minutes in the quarter-finals. Chen Long won 43 rallies in the match to 31 by Jinting, the 6th seed. Chen Long won 6 consecutive points during the match while Ginting won 4. Ginting, however, leads Chen Long 5-3 head to head.

Son Wan Ho, the 4th seed, beat World No 8 Kidambi Srikanth, 25, India, in a three-set thriller 21-23, 21-16, 21-17 in 72 minutes in the quarter-finals. Son Wan won 63 rallies in the match while Srikanth won 56. Wan Ho won 4 consecutive points in the match while Srikanth won 5. Son Wan leads Srikanth 6-4 head to head.

Axelsen, the 5th seed, beat World Nom37 Lee Zii Jia, 20, Malaysia, 21-12, 22-20 in 37 minutes in the quarter-finals. Axelsen won 43 rallies in the match to 32 by Jia. Axelsen won 7 consecutive points while Jia won 4. Axelsen will face Chen Long in the semi-finals on January 19, 2019.

Liew Daren, Malaysia, beat World No 2 Shi Yuqi, 22, China, in a tough three-set contest 21-12, 16-21, 21-11 in 55 minutes in gthe quarter-finals on January 18. Daren won 58 rallies in the match to 44 by Yuqi, the silver medallist at 2018 World Championship at Nanjing, China. Daren won 9 consecutive points in the match to 7 by Yuqi. Daren and Yuqi are locked 1-1 head to head. Daren will face Son Wan Ho in the semi-fianls on January 19.