HK's world No. 14 Angus Ng ousts world No.1 Chen Hong
No 'third-time lucky' for Chen Long as Ng takes his place in semi-finals
There did not appear to be any cause for panic for Chen Long when he went a set down in his quarter-final against Angus Ng at the Singapore Indoor Stadium yesterday.
China's world No. 1 male shuttler had come from behind to win in his previous two matches at the OUE Singapore Open and few expected it to be different.
This time, however, there was to be no such revival as Hong Kong's Ng produced a brilliant display of badminton to defeat the top seed 21-14, 21-18 in just 39 minutes, setting up a last-four meeting in the men's singles with South Korea's Son Wan Ho today.
Ng never looked fazed against the Chinese star and made a statement right from the start, leaving Chen stunned as his aggressive play helped him race to a 6-0 lead in the opening game.
He never looked back and duly wrapped up the opening set with little fuss.
Just when one of Chen's comebacks looked on the cards when he cruised ahead 9-2 in the second game, his opponent shifted through the gears to win 19 of the next 28 points to record a stunning victory, one that the 21-year-old ranks as even better than his win over two-time Olympic gold medallist Lin Dan last November.
"I guess you could say so," he replied with a grin, when asked by The New Paper if it was his best win thus far in his young career.
"It's not often you get to chance to play, and beat, the world No. 1 in a Superseries tournament, so this match is indeed my best result up till now."
SHOCK DEFEAT
Despite the shock defeat, Chen was surprisingly upbeat as he paid credit to his opponent.
"It is a bit of a shame, especially when I was up 14-7 in the second game and let him come back to claim a 17-14 lead," said the two-time world champion.
"Perhaps it was due to me feeling like I had already wrapped up the second game so I didn't play with the same intensity, but I thought he played well.
"He did really well in the first game but maybe, in the second game, it (the defeat) was my own doing.
"But I think overall I did alright… I'm not really too disappointed not to win the tournament, even though I definitely arrived here with that ambition."
Instead, it is Hong Kong's world No. 14 Ng who has a chance to win the prestigious title, although the youngster is determined not to get ahead of himself.
He said: "I'm still a long way from winning. I just have to relax and take it one game at a time and hope to do my best.
"Of course, we are also still vying for Olympic qualification, so winning this match has given me even more confidence to achieve that.
"To have beaten such a strong opponent in my career is a great experience."
YESTERDAY'S COMPLETED QUARTER-FINALS RESULTS
MEN'S SINGLES:
- Angus Ng (Hkg) bt Chen Long (Chn) 21-14 21-18
- Son Wan Ho (Kor) bt Tian Houwei (Chn) 11-21 21-15 21-19
- Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Ina) bt Wang Zhengming (Chn) 24-22 12-21 21-16
- Lin Dan (Chn) bt Tommy Sugiarto 21-18 21-14
WOMEN'S SINGLES:
- Sun Yu (Chn) bt Sung Ji Hyun (Kor) 21-15 19-21 21-19
- He Bingjiao (Chn) bt Zhang Beiwen (USA) 21-16 21-15
- Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) bt Porntip Buranaprasertsuk (Tha) 21-12 21-18
- Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) bt Carolina Marin (Spa) 13-21 21-18 21-18
MEN'S DOUBLES:
- Takeshi Kamura/Keigo Sonoda (Jpn) bt Chai Biao/Hong Wei (Chn) 21-15 21-8
- Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen (Chn) bt Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan (Ina) 21-11 21-11
- Lee Yong Dae/Yoo Yeon Seong (Kor) bt Angga Pratama/Ricky Karanda Suwardi (Ina) 21-17 21-16
- Fu Haifeng/Zhang Nan (Chn) bt Gideon Markus Fernaldi/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 21-15 21-19
WOMEN'S DOUBLES:
- Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi (Jpn) bt Shizuka Matsuo/Mami Naito (Jpn) 21-15 21-11
- Nitya Krishinda Maheswari/Greysia Polii (Ina) bt Chen Qingfen/Jia Yifan (Chn) 21-19 20-22 21-12
- Jung Kyung Eun/Shin Seung Chan (Kor) bt Naoko Fukuman/Kurumi Yonao (Jpn) 21-12 8-21 21-19
- Tian Qing/Zhao Yunlei (Chn) bt Della Destiara Haris/ Rosyita Eka Putri Sari (Ina) 18-21 21-16 21-12
MIXED DOUBLES:
- Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir (Ina) bt Chris Adcock/Gabrielle Adcock (Eng) 21-15 21-15
- Xu Chen/Ma Jin (Chn) bt Praveen Jordan/Debby Susanto (Ina) 21-17 21-18
- Wang Yilyu/Chen Qingchen (Chn) bt Kenta Kazuno/Ayane Kurihara (Jpn) 20-22 21-7 21-14
- Ko Sung Hyun/Kim Ha Na (Kor) bt Liu Yuchen/Tang Jinhua (Chn) 21-13 12-21 24-22
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