China's Yuqi lost in Denmark but keep an eye on him

Shi Yuqi lost in the quarter-finals of the Denmark Open.

ODENSE (Denmark): Two years ago, China’s Shi Yuqi (pic) was thrilled just to have his picture taken with world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei.

Now, the 20-year-old is chomping at the bit for a shot at the Malaysian ace on the court.

“I have grown more mature in my game since that photo shoot with Chong Wei,” said Yuqi, who joined China’s national team as a 17-year-old. 

“I’ve lost to Chong Wei twice over the last year, but I’ve also learnt a lot. Hopefully, I will get a chance to beat him one day ... soon.”

Yuqi lost tamely to Chong Wei in the Japan Open last month and the Canada Open last year.

But Yuqi has shown at the ongoing Denmark Open that he is one to watch out for.

First, he stunned Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark in the opening round. Then, on Thursday, the Indonesian Masters champion downed India’s Ajay Jayaram 23-21, 21-15.

He have a rousing performance before going down 13-21, 21-15, 18-21 to South Korea’s Son Wan-ho.

“Beating Jorgensen was special. This is the first time I have beaten a world No. 5 player,” said Yuqi, who revealed that his badminton idols are Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia and Lee Hyun-il of South Korea.

“I started playing badminton when I was six ... just to keep fit. Then, I watched Taufik and Hyun-il play and I loved their techniques ... I’ve always wanted to play like them,” said world No. 24 Yuqi.

While Taufik has quit the sport, Hyun-il is still very much in the thick of the action.

On Thursday, the Korean showed that he’s still a threat in world badminton when he packed off home favourite Viktor Axelsen 7-21, 21-13, 21-14 in the second round of Denmark Open.   

Yuqi also believes that there are a few youngsters – including compatriot Qiao Bin and Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie and Ihsan Maulana – are on the right track to challenge the big guns.

All they need, he says is “more experience and exposure”.