Ratchanok faces Yamaguchi test
SEOUL: Ratchanok Intanon takes on rival Akane Yamaguchi in the quarter-finals of the US$600,000 BWF Victor Korea Open today.
The seventh-seeded Ratchanok cruised past Hong Kong-born Michelle Li of Canada 21-6, 21-16 to set up a clash against second seed and defending champion Yamaguchi of Japan.
Ratchanok, who has won two Grand Prix Gold tournaments this season, is chasing her first Superseries title of the year.
Yamaguchi had a much tougher second round match yesterday. She needed an hour to overcome China’s Chen Xiaoxin 25-23, 11-21, 21-18 and earn her spot in the last eight.
World champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan meets Yip Pui Yin of Hong Kong in another quarter-final today.
Eighth seed Okuhara beat compatriot Sayaka Sato 21-16, 21-13 while Yip knocked out Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia 21-16, 21-14.
Okuhara became the first singles world champion from Japan after she beat Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu of India 21-19, 20-22, 22-20 in the final in Glasgow last month.
All the other Thai players — Nitchaon Jindapol (women’s singles), Pannawit Thongnuam (men’s singles) and Bodin Isara and Savitree Amitrapai (mixed doubles) — lost their second round matches yesterday.
Nitchaon gave fifth seed Sindhu a real test before losing 20-22, 17-21.
Sindhu next plays unseeded Japanese Minatsu Mitano who caused the biggest shock of the tournament by knocking out top seed Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan 23-21, 14-21, 21-18.
Third seed Sung Ji-Hyun of South Korea faces sixth seed He Bingjiao of China in the other quarter-final today.
Qualifier Pannawit Thongnuam went out to Denmark’s Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus 21-16, 16-21, 20-22 while Bodin and Savitree lost to fourth seeds Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto of Indonesia 16-21, 10-21.