Stretch: Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen returning a shot to India’s H.S. Prannoy during the quarter-final match of the Japan Open in Osaka. — AFP
PETALING JAYA: World Championships bronze medallist Chou Tien-chen of Taiwan continued his good form in the Land of the Rising Sun when he survived a thrilling battle against India’s H.S. Prannoy to reach the last four of the Japan Open.
World No. 6 Tien-chen, who had created history by becoming the first Taiwanese to win a medal in the men’s singles event at the recent world meet in Tokyo, had to dig deep into his reserves to overcome Prannoy (No. 18) 21-17, 15-21, 22-20 in a match lasting 80 minutes in Osaka yesterday.
With the win, the 32-year-old sets up a showdown with China’s world No. 22 Shi Yuqi in the semi-final today.
Yuqi, who had made his comeback at the world meet after serving a 10-month ban for misconduct, brushed aside Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen 21-6, 21-13 in 42 minutes in another quarter-final tie.
His clash against Tien-chen is set to be an intriguing affair as the Chinese will be determined to bounce back after losing to Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting in the third round.
Yuqi holds the advantage based on their head-to-head records as he has beaten the Taiwanese five times in their past seven meetings including the last two at the 2019 Asian Championships and 2018 World Tour Finals.
The other semi-final tie will be between Denmark’s Anders Antonsen (No. 3) and homester Kenta Nishimoto (No. 21).
Both players have reached the last four stage in an Open tournament for the first time this year. Antonsen, who had been struggling with injuries for the past few months, looked in better shape as he defeated another home player Kanta Tsuneyama 21-11, 21-12 in his quarter-final match yesterday.
Nishimoto brought some cheer to the home fans by making up for his compatriot’s loss with a hard-fought 14-21, 21-17, 21-18 victory over Indonesia’s Malaysian Masters champion Chico Aura.
