SINGAPORE, Nov 19: Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei scored the biggest upset of the Singapore Open badminton tournament on Friday with a 15-5, 15-13 quarter-final win over world number two and top seed Peter Gade.
The 22-year-old Lee, ranked 17 in the world, said he was shocked to not only beat the Dane, but to have reached the semifinals of the 170,000 US dollar event. Lee, who beat Gade on the way to claiming this year's Malaysian Open title, started brilliantly, putting his opponent on the defensive with precision cross court smashes to win the first game in 25 minutes.
The second was a more even contest, with a turning point coming at 12-12 when the umpire controversially penalised Gade for brushing his racquet against the net. Gade lavished praise on Lee after the match and was relatively upbeat despite the loss.
Lee faces Bao Chunlai in Saturday's semifinals after the Chinese teenager easily disposed of Malaysia's Kuan Beng Hong 15-8, 15-5. Bao, aged just 17, will be aiming for his second final in consecutive weeks after finishing as runner-up in the China Open.
Unseeded Malaysian Muhammad Hafiz Hashim ended the title hopes of two-time defending champion Chen Hong. The 2003 All-England champion won 15-13, 15-3. In Saturday's second semifinal, Hashim faces second seeded Dane Kenneth Jonassen, who had little problems in disposing of eighth seed Ng Wei of Hong Kong 15-4, 15-3.
In the women's singles defending and Athens Olympic champion Zhang Ning of China defeated compatriot Chen Li 11-3, 11-2 in the quarter-finals. Zhang, seeded two will play third-seeded Frenchwoman Pi Hongyan in the semifinals. Pi beat Denmark's Tine Rasmussen 11-9, 11-13, 11-9 on Friday.
Quarterfinals results
Men's singles: Lee Chong Wei (MAS) bt Peter Gade (DEN) 15-5, 15-13; Bao Chunlai (CHN) bt Kuan Beng Hong (MAS) 15-8, 15-5; Muhammad Hafiz Hashim (MAS) bt Chen Hong (CHN) 15-13, 15-3; Kenneth Jonassen (DEN) bt Ng Wei (HKG) 15-4, 15-3
Women's singles: Yao Jie (NED) bt Xing Aiying (SIN) 11-1, 11-1; Zhou Mi (CHN) bt Kaori Mori (JPN) 11-13, 11-1, 11-4; Pi Hongyan (FRA) bt Tine Rasmussen (DEN) 11-9, 11-13, 11-9; Zhang Ning (CHN) bt Chen Li (CHN) 11-3, 11-2. -AFP