BADMINTON/Taiwan shuttlers Chou, Lin advance to men's singles semis at Swiss Open

Taipei, March 23 (CNA) Taiwanese badminton players Chou Tien-chen (周天成) and Lin Chun-yi (林俊易) defeated their respective opponents to advance to the men's singles semifinals at the Yonex Swiss Open in Basel on Friday.

The 34-year-old Chou, currently ranked world No. 15, bested Priyanshu Rajawat of India 21-15, 21-19 in 43 minutes at the St. Jakobshalle arena.

The two players, going head-to-head for the first time, exchanged the lead several times early in the opener, but Chou quickly pulled ahead with five consecutive points to lead 13-9 at the mid-point interval.

Taiwan's top male shuttler continued his aggressive play and retained the comfortable lead to seal the first game.

However, Chou found himself in trouble early in the second game when the 22-year-old Rajawat regrouped and surged into a 9-4 lead at the interval.

After a string of unforced errors by the Indian shuttler, Chou was able to close the gap and then steam ahead to seal the victory.

Chou next faces Danish player Rasmus Gemke.

Also on Friday, world No. 22 Lin defeated Magnus Johannsen of Denmark in two straight games -- 21-18, 21-7 -- to advance to the men's singles semifinals.

His next opponent will be Srikanth Kidambi of India.

Meanwhile, other Taiwanese players who also reached the semifinals in Switzerland include women's doubles pair Hsu Ya-ching (許雅晴) and Lin Wan-ching (林琬清), and mixed doubles pair Ye Hong-wei (葉宏蔚) and Lee Chia-hsin (李佳馨).

The Swiss Open is a Badminton World Federation World Tour Super 300 event being held from March 19-24.