China's Shi reaches Indonesian Open quarter-finals, home hopes exit
FILE PHOTO: Asian Games - Hangzhou 2022 - Badminton - Binjiang Gymnasium, Hangzhou, China - October 7, 2023 China's Shi Yuqi in action during his Men's Singles final against China's Li Shifeng REUTERS/Weixiang Lim/File Photo
World number two and top seed Shi Yuqi eased past Yushi Tanaka 21-14 21-7 in the round of 16 at the Indonesia Open on Thursday, while local hope Jonatan Christie lost to Lee Cheuk Yiu.
Defending champion Shi, who won the Malaysia and All-England Opens this year, took 36 minutes to defeat Japanese Tanaka and set up a quarter-final against compatriot Wang Zhengxing.
Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn, the world number one, also progressed to the last eight with a 21-10 21-17 win over Lee Chia-hao.
In the women's draw, world number one An Se-Young was similarly dominant, beating fellow South Korean Kim Ga-Eun 21-7 21-11, while India's twice Olympic medallist P.V. Sindhu lost to Thai Pornpawee Chochuwong.
Indonesia will not have any representative in the men's quarter-finals after Christie and Alwi Farhan both suffered defeats.
Fifth-seeded Christie, who last won a Super 1000 title at the 2024 All-England Open, appeared to be cruising after taking the first game comfortably, but Hong Kong's Lee rallied to clinch a 12-21 21-12 21-10 win.
"There was a lot of pressure on me. When I hit the shuttle I couldn't even hear the sound – the crowd was so loud. So I'm so happy to win this match," Lee said.
"I had to calm down and start from zero, and forget what happened in the first game. I just tried to avoid mistakes and had to be patient.
"It was a great experience. It was almost like playing at home in Hong Kong. I'm proud of myself. I'm happy I could do it, because my mentality is my weak side."
Farhan put up a fight against third-ranked Dane Anders Antonsen, losing 21-16 18-21 21-14. REUTERS
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