Chong Wei enters Japan open quarter-final

Malaysian badminton ace, Datuk Lee Chong Wei continues his fine form by advancing to the quarter-final of the Japan Open Super Series Badminton tournament at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, on Thursday.

The fifth seeded shuttler who is also defending champion, received stiff competition from Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia before securing a hard-fought 22-20 and 21-17 win in the second round match, said the Badminton World Federation (BWF) website;www.bwfworldsuperseries.com.

National men's doubles pair, Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi, on the other hand, pulled off a suprise after stunning the eight seed, Lee Jhe-Huei-Lee Yang of Taiwan; winning in 21-18 and 21-12.

Malaysia's challenge in the women's singles and mixed doubles event in the US$325,00 (RM1.364 million) tournament, fizzled out after the players were beaten by their respective opponents.

Soniia Cheah lost in straight-set 14-21 and 14-21 to the eight seed, Zhang Beiwen of the United States while Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Jemie Lai suffered a shock 6-21, 25-23 and 20-22 lossw to Takuro Hoki-Sayaka Hirota of Japan.

Former national player Lim Khim Wah and former Olympic champion, Yoo Yeon Seong of South Korea were eliminated from the tournament after losing 18-21 and 19-21 to the fourth seed, Takeshi Kamura-Keigo Sonoda.

Another former national player, Tan Boon Heong who teamed up with former Olympic champion, Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia also suffered a similar fate, losing 8-21 and 13-21 to the second seed, Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen of Denmark.

Malaysia's interest in the women's doubles event ended yesterday after the only representative, Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean lost in the opening round.

--BERNAMA