Chou Tien-chen Beats Lee Cheuk Yiu in Straight Sets, Advances to Indonesia Open Semifinals

(Central News Agency, Reporter Li Jianzhong, Taipei, 5th) Taiwan's top badminton men's singles player, Chou Tien-chen, faced his long-time Hong Kong rival Lee Cheuk Yiu in the quarterfinals of the BWF Super 1000 Indonesia Open today. He won in straight sets 21-15, 21-15, advancing to the semifinals and continuing his quest for a second tournament title.

The 36-year-old Chou, ranked 6th in the BWF men's singles world rankings, held a 9-6 head-to-head advantage over Lee, who is ranked 23rd, before the match. This victory also ended a two-match losing streak against Lee.

The first game was tightly contested early on. When trailing 11-12, Chou used excellent front-and-back court rallies to create opportunities for smashes, launching a 9-2 run to turn the game around. He secured six game points at 20-14 and comfortably won the first game.

In the second game, Lee completely lost his rhythm. Chou took an early 8-1 lead, extended it to a maximum of 15-7 in the middle of the game, and then played steadily, giving his opponent no chance to recover, securing a straight-sets victory.

Chou told CNA that they know each other very well, and it comes down to who performs better on the day. "The opponent gave me a lot of tests, which gave me more experience for the subsequent matches," he said.

As for other Taiwanese players in the quarterfinals, mixed doubles pair Ye Hong-wei and Jan You-zhen, and women's singles player Chiu Pin-chian were all eliminated. Only Chou advanced to the semifinals, where he will face Canadian player of Chinese descent, Jason Ho-Shue.

Chou won the Indonesia Open men's singles title in 2019, the only Taiwanese men's singles champion in the tournament's history. Chou has a great opportunity to lift the trophy again. (Editor: Li Mingzong) 1150605