Li Chia-hao Defeats Jeon Hyeok-jin at Australian Open, Reaches Quarterfinals After 15 Months

(Central News Agency, Taipei, June 11) At the BWF Super 500 Australian Open, Taiwanese men's singles shuttler Li Chia-hao defeated South Korea's Jeon Hyeok-jin 21-19, 21-13 in the round of 16 on Tuesday, marking his first international quarterfinal appearance in 15 months.

Li, ranked 34th in the BWF men's singles world rankings, had a 1-1 head-to-head record against world No. 39 Jeon Hyeok-jin before the match.

In the first game, Li was mostly trailing but accelerated his attack when down 13-16 late in the game. He smashed every time his opponent lifted the shuttle, scoring seven consecutive points to turn the tide and take the first game.

Carrying the momentum, Li continued to pressure his opponent in the second game. With the score tied at 11-11, he launched a 6-1 run to extend the lead to 17-12, completely extinguishing Jeon's fightback and winning in straight sets.

Since finishing runner-up at the Super 1000 All England Open in April last year, Li had fallen into an unexpected slump, suffering first-round exits in 11 tournaments through the end of last year, with his best results being round-of-16 finishes.

Li's form did not recover this year either. Before the Australian Open, he played 11 tournaments, losing in the first round in nine and exiting in the round of 16 in the other two. His quarterfinal appearance in Australia is his best international result in 15 months. He will next face Indonesian rising star Alwi Farhan.

Besides Li, other Taiwanese men's singles players Chou Tien-chen, Lin Chun-yi, and Wang Tzu-wei all lost in the round of 16 on Tuesday. (Editor: Chung Wei-wei) 1150611