Home Favourite Son Through to BWF Korea Masters Semi-Finals

Gwangyu, MINA — Top seed Son Wan Ho has moved one step closer to a home triumph at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Korea Masters in Gwangju after coming through his men’s singles quarter-final clash with Indonesia’s Ihsan Maulana Mustofa Friday, Inside the Games reported.

Son, the 2016 champion and the winner of the BWF Hong Kong Open earlier this month, registered a hard-fought 16-21, 21-17, 21-13 win at the Gwangju Women’s University Stadium in this HSBC BWF World Tour Super 300 event.

It sets up a semi-final encounter with Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu, who defeated Chinese Taipei’s Lu Chia Hung 21-11, 21-13 in the last eight.

The other penultimate-round match is set to pit Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia against Thailand’s Sitthikom Thammasin.

Lee overcame Indonesia’s Shesar Hiren Rhustavito 21-14, 21-13, while Thammasin beat Malaysia’s Soong Joo Ven 21-16, 16-21, 21-15.

Third seed Nitchaon Jindapol has been eliminated from the women’s singles event ©Getty
In the women’s singles event, third-seeded Thai Nitchaon Jindapol suffered elimination at the last-eight stage following a 21-15, 4-21, 20-22 loss to eighth-seeded Chinese Han Yue.

Han will next go onto face South Korea’s Kim Hyo Min, who was one set up when compatriot Kim Ga Eun was forced to retire from their quarter-final.

Through to the other semi-final are seventh-seeded Malaysian Goh Jin Wei, a 21-9, 21-6 winner over Chinese Taipei’s Chiang Ying Li, and China’s Li Xuerui, a 21-14, 21-12 victor at the expense of Indonesia’s Fitriani Fitriani.

Action at the BWF Korea Masters is due to continue tomorrow.

The finals are scheduled for Sunday (December 2).  (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)