Jiangsu: Men’s singles top seed Chen Long and second seed Lin Dan have made it to the semi-finals of the 2016 China Masters on Friday.
Chen needed only 46 minutes to see off No. 7 seed Indian shuttler H. S. Prannoy with 21-10, 21-15. Chen will play No. 12 seed Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand on Saturday. Meanwhile, Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk breezed into the semi-finals with a straight-sets win over Korea’s Lee Dong Keun 21-13, 21-18 in 49 minutes.
Two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan overcame scare from unheralded compatriot Lu Guangzu, stormed back after dropping the second set to turn the tables on Lu for a 21-14, 17-21, 21-12 quarter-finals win at the Olympic Sports Center Xincheng Gymnasium in Jiangsu, China.
Lin Dan who was also known as “Super Dan”, will face his younger teammate Lin Guipu in the semi-finals.
Sixth seeded Malaysian mixed doubles pair of Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying also marched on to the semis when they spent 38 minutes to power past China’s young pair, He Jiting/Du Yue, winning in 21-17 and 21-17 in 38 minutes.
However, tougher tests await Chan/Goh in the semi-finals when they will clash with top seeds, Xu Chen/Ma Jin of China.
In women’s singles, fourth seeded Sindhu was stunned 21-17, 21-19 by Thailand’s Porntip Buranaprasertsuk in a match that lasted 38 minutes. Buranaprasertsuk faces No. 1 seed Li Xuerui of China for a final berth.
Men’s doubles top seeds Lee Yong Dae/Yoo Yeon Seong of Korea also made the semi-finals and will meet Huang Kaixiang/Zheng Siwei of China on Saturday. Another Korean men’s pair the No. 3 seeds Kim Gi Jung/Kim Sa Rang are set to battle unseeded Takeshi Kamura/Keigo Sonoda in the semi-finals.
