Vietnam's Nguyen Tien Minh looks to capitalize on the absence of world No.1 Lee Chong Wei and world No.4 Kenichi Tago at the ongoing Denmark Open. - Filepic
ODENSE: Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Minh checked into the second round of the Denmark Open and is ready to take advantage of the absence of world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei and world No. 4 Kenichi Tago in the top half of the draw.
The 31-year-old Tien Minh, ranked 24th in the world, disposed of Japan’s Takuma Ueda 22-20, 21-10 at the Odense Idraetshal on Wednesday.
“I think it was a very good performance and I’m very happy with the way I played because it means I’ll probably climb back up the rankings next week,” said Tien Minh, who was once the world No. 5.
“I lost in the first round last year because of jet lag.
“This time I’m in perfect condition and playing my best in recent weeks. I won the US Open in July and nearly beat Chong Wei in Incheon (Asiad) ... I’m fairly confident of my chances tomorrow (Thursday).”
Tien Minh will meet world No. 14 Tian Houwei of China for a place in the quarter-finals.
Houwei, the 2009 world junior champion, sent fifth seed Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia packing with a sensational 21-14, 21-14 win.
In women’s singles, American world No. 17 Zhang Beiwen claimed a significant scalp after packing off world No. 8 Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan 16-21, 22-20, 21-16.
The 23-year-old Beiwen left Liaoning in China to go to Singapore when she was 13. She began representing the United States last year.
“This is a good win for me because I nearly quit the sport after leaving Singapore in 2011. I stopped playing for two years,” said Beiwen, who has four titles this year.
World No. 1 Li Xuerui, who was beaten in the World Championships final in Copenhagen two months ago, put the bad memories behind her as she cruised past Thailand’s Porntip Buranaprasertsuk 21-15, 21-12 in the first round.
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