Taiwan’s top male singles shuttler Chou Tien-chen (???) outdueled compatriot Wang Tzu-wei (???) in a deciding rubber on Thursday to reach the quarter finals of the India Open.
World No. 5 and fifth-seeded Chou took one hour and 34 minutes to defeat Wang 18-21, 21-17, 21-10 at the newly upgraded BWF World Tour Super 750 event, which is being held at KD Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi, India.
The win extends Chou’s head-to-head record against Wang to 10-1, stretching all the way back to the Vietnam Open Grand Prix in Ho Chih Minh in 2012. Chou next faces world No. 4 and fourth seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia for a slot in the semifinals.
During the match, Chou trailed Wang for most of the first game before clawing his way back to 13-13. However, Wang won the next four points, building a cushion that helped him reach game point at 20-18, before winning the next point and the opening game.
Wang again found himself with a comfortable 13-8 lead in the second game but was unable to maintain the momentum as Chou reeled off the next six points to lead 14-13. The scores remained close with Chou ahead by one point at 18-17 before winning the next three points to force a deciding game.
In the rubber game, Chou established an early advantage by winning the first six points and steadily built on that to lead 18-8. Chou lost the next two points but rallied with a three-point run to win the match.
Meanwhile, a string of Taiwanese doubles pairings were knocked out in the second round on Thursday,
Men’s doubles world No. 34 Lee Jhe-huei (???) and Yang Po-hsuan (???) were defeated by world No. 3 pairing Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia 21-15, 19-21, 19-21.
Women’s doubles world No. 32 Lee Chia-hsin (???) and Teng Chun-hsun (???) fell to world No. 8 pairing Tan Pearly and Thinaah Muralitharan of Malaysia 14-21, 21-16, 6-21.
Taiwan mixed doubles pairing and world No. 47 Chang Ko-chi (???) and Lee Chih-chen (???) lost to French world No. 5 duo Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue 19-21, 21-19, 17-21.
Later Thursday, world No. 14 Taiwan duo Lu Ching-yao (???) and Yang Po-han (???) will take on world No. 18 South Korean pairing Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae in the men’s second round for a place in the quarterfinals.
The India Open 2023, held Jan. 17-22, carries a total purse of US$900,000 and is the second stop on the BWF World Tour this year following the Malaysia Open, which concluded in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel