Birmingham: It was another thrilling match, but it was a reversal of fortune for the Rio Olympic mixed doubles silver medalists Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying of Malaysia when they played with a majestic exhibition to beat Zhang Nan/Li Yinhui of China at All England on Thursday, avenging their 13-21, 21-18, 23-25 quarter-final defeat in last week’s German Open.
After losing the first set 9-21 and despite trailing for most of the game in the second set, Chan/Goh edged out a 23-21 win over Zhang Nan/Li Yinhui to force a decider.
After 16-16, Chan/Goh out-played Zhang/Li to finish the nail-biting third set by winning the decider with 21-17.
No. 6 seeds Chan/Goh will play qualifiers Wang Yilyu/Huang Dongping of China next.
Another Malaysian mixed doubles pair Tan Kian Meng/Lai Pei Jing however was sent packing, succumbing to Yoo Yeon Seong/Kim Ha Na of Korea 15-21, 9-21.
The biggest upset of the day came from unseeded Wang Yilyu/Huang Dongping of China, who knocked out mixed doubles No. 1 seeds and compatriots Zheng Siwei/Chen Qingchen 24-22, 21-15.
In women’s competition, the top seed Tai Tzu Ying was pushed to the limit by unseeded Minatsu Mitani of Japan before outlasting the Japanese 27-25, 21-11 to set up a quarter-final clash with India’s No. 6 seeds P.V Sindhu.
Sindhu made it looked so easy and effortless when the Olympic silver medalist from India overcame Dinar Dyah Ayustine of Indonesia 21-12, 21-4 in 30 minutes.
Although Malaysia’s Vivian Hoo/Woon Khe Wei produced a spirited fight, but it was not enough to topple No. 3 seeds Jung Kyung-Eun/Shin Seung Chan of Korea as the Malaysian pair went down 21-17, 12-21, 17-21 in 79 minutes.
