The quarter-final matches of the men’s singles category had representation from 5 countries. Three of the eight players were from Denmark Alone. Also, all three of the Danish men made it to the semi-finals!
Quarter-final review- Men’s singles
In the longest match of the day at the Toyota Thailand Open, clocking an hour and 21 minutes, Anders Antonsen emerged victorious over the Indian, Sameer Verma 21-13, 19-21 and 22-20. In one of the best matches of the day, the two men played some fantastic badminton which was a delight to watch. Marginal errors, smashes finding the lines, net kills, name it, and the match had them all. Sameer Verma’s smashes and follow-through was so fluid and flawless today. Antonsen’s net game, and cross-court shots, were beyond beautiful.
Viktor Axelsen was in complete control of his game. The fourth seed beat the Malaysian, Daren Liew in straight games 21-16, 21-15, not leaving much room for his opponent to dominate. Axelsen was in great form, with his attacking game.
Chou Tien Chen, the second seed form Taipei beat compatriot Wang Tzu Wei in a 52 minute encounter. Chou had to fight it out to tackle his team- mate in longer ralies to win points. The former number one wraped up the game in his favour, 21-16, 21-16.
Hans Kristian Vittinghus booked a berth in the last four in the second-longest match of the day clocking an hour and 17 minutes. He beat Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong China who had earlier outed fifth seed Anthony Ginting in the second round. Vittinghus and Lee fought it hard, to make it to the last-four stage. The match was nothing short of a marathon testing their physical and mental abilities and strength. The Danish, however, prevailed edging past lee 21-19 in the third game, the final score being 20-22, 21-12, 21-19.
Mens Doubles Update
The young Indian promising duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, ranked 10 in the world, made their way to the semi-final of the Super 1000 event. They beat Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ei Yi of Malaysia in straight but nail-biting games 21-18, 24-22. Both players were strong on attack both from rear and front-court. Their smashes were power-packed. The doubles pairs have truly raised the standards and expectations from doubles players in India.
The semi-finals are going to be surely power-packed with some wonderful matches to be played. The men’s doubles pair of Satwik and Chirag hold hopes of Indians high. It remains to see how they perform at a crucial stage of the tournament.
Stay tuned for the Semi-final preview!
Also Read: Toyota Thailand Open: PV Sindhu crashes out in the quarter-final
