Odense: Malaysia’s unseeded mixed doubles pair Goh Soon Huat/Shevon Jemie Lai breezed through the Denmark Open quarterfinal at Odense Sports Park with a straight-sets victory over Niclas Nohr/Sara Thygesen of Denmark on Friday.
Goh/Lai reeled off 4 consecutive points when they were trailed 17-20 in the first set, held onto their nerves to win the first game 23-21. The Malaysian pair upped their game in the second set to crush the demoralized Danish pair 21-12.
On the journey of seeking their first Superseries title, Goh/Lai will face a stern test against No. 1 seeds Zheng Siwei/Chen Qingchen of China in the semi-finals on Saturday.
In women’s singles, No. 1 seed Tai Tzu Ying had been struggling in the first set, losing to the physical committed Kim Hyo Min of Korea 2-22. However, Kim showed signs of exhaustion and couldn’t sustain the challenge by Tai by losing the second set 16-21.
Tai gave an impressive demonstration of the variety of her badminton skills in the decider, finished off the third 21-9 to set up a semi-final encounter with Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand.
Saturday’s other women’s singles semi-final will see Japan’s No. 4 seeds Akane Yamaguchi take on China’s Chen Yufei.
