India's Sameer Verma ( Image above) reached his first Superseries semi-finals but Hong Kong will see one of their prodigal sons – Hu Yun or Angus Ng Ka Long – make the final on Sunday in the USD350,000 Yonex Sunrise.
The two locals will be involved in an all-Hong Kong semi-final clash for a place in the final. In the last eight the Hong Kong duo scored straight sets victories over the respective opponents.
Hu Yun made the last four with a 22-20, 21-12 win over Indonesian veteran Sony Dwi Kuncoro in 44 minutes while Ka Long snuffed out India's Ajay Jayaram 21-15, 21-14 in 32 minutes.
The other semi-final will be between Denmark's third seed Jan O Jorgensen and Sameer – the national champion of India. Jorgensen broke the hearts of the local supporters when he beat Vincent Wong Wing Ki 21-19, 21-17. Sameer ended Malaysian professional Chong Wei Feng's run in the tournament with a 21-17, 23-21 win.
There is also hope that unseeded local Cheung Ngan Yi will make the women's singles final after her 21-8, 18-21, 21-19 win over former world No 1 and fifth seed Saina Nehwal of India. Ngan Yi faces another Indian hurdle in P.V. Sindhu in the semi-final.
The Rio Olympics silver medallist, fresh from winning her maiden Superseries title in the Thaihot China Open Superseries Premier in Fuzhou last Sunday, battled for 79 minutes against Singapore's China-born Liang Xiaoyu before prevailing 21-17, 21-23, 21-18.
World No 1 and top seed Carolina Marin will face Taiwan's Tai Tzu Ying for a place in the final. The Spaniard known as "Shrieking Marin" downed Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 21-7, 21-18 while Tzu Ying was too strong for another Japanese Ayo Ohori and came off 21-9, 21-14 winner.
The Marin-Tzu Ying match is a much awaited encounter after the Taiwanese dumped the Spaniard in the quarter-finals in the China Open last week. Tzu Ying won the match in Fuzhou 21-10, 22-20.
Men's doubles top seeds Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong ended another tournament without a title. The world No 1 and top seeds from Malaysia failed to make the semi-final when they lost to Indonesia's new combination of Mohammad Ahsan-Rian Agung Saputro.
Playing together in only their second tournament the Indonesians walked away with a 21-11, 17-21, 21-17 win in 48 minutes. They now face No 4 seeds Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen of Denmark who beat another Malaysian pair of Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi 21-14, 18-21, 21-13.
Just like in the men's doubles it was also the end of the road for world No 1 and Olympic champions Misaki Matsutomo-Ayaka Takahashi in the women's doubles. The Japanese were beaten by China's new combination Bao Yixin-Yu Xiaohan 21-17, 14-21, 21-15 in a 61-minute match.
QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS
Men's singles
Jan O Jorgsensen (Den) beat Vincent Wong Wing Ki (Hkg) 21-19, 21-17
Sameer Verma (Ind) beat Chong Wei Feng (Mas) 21-17, 23-21
Hu Yun (Hkg) beat Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Ina) 22-20, 21-12
Angus Ng Ka Long (Hkg) beat Ajay Jayaram (Ind) 21-15, 21-14
Men's doubles
Mohammad Ahsan-Rian Agung Saputro (Ina) beat Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong (Mas)21-11. 17-21, 21-17
Takeshi Kamura-Keigo Sonoda (Jpn) beat Choi Solgyu-Ko Sung-hyun (Kor) 21-18, 21-10
Chai Biao-Hong Wei (Chn) beat Law Cheuk Him-Reginald Lee Chun Hei (Hkg) 21-17, 21-13
Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen (Den) Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (Mas) 21-14, 18-21, 21-13
Women's singles
Carolina Marin (Spn) beat Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) 21-7, 21-18
Tai Tzu Ying (Tpe) beat Aya Ohori (Jpn) 21-19. 21-14
P.V. Sindhu (Ind) beat Liang Xiaoyu (Sin) 21-17, 21-23, 21-18
Cheung Ngan Yi (Hkg) beat Saina Nehwal (Ind) 21-8, 18-21, 21-19
Women's doubles
Bao Yixin-Yu Xiaohan (Chn0 beat Misaki Matsutmo-Ayaka Takahashi (Jpn) 21-17, 14-21, 21-15
Kamilla Rhytter Juhl-Christina Pedersen (Den) beat Jongkolphan Kititharakul-Rawinda Prajongjai (Tha) 19-21, 21-16, 21-18
Huang Dongping-Li Yunhui (Chn) beat Jung Kyung-eun-Shin Seung-chan (Kor) 8-21, 21-16, 21-17
Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifah (Chn) beat Chang Ye-na-Lee So-hee (Kor) 21-19, 21-13
Mixed doubles
Tang Chun Man-Tze Ying Suet (Hkg) beat Chris Adcock-Gabrielle Adcock (Eng) 21-19, 22-20
Praveen Jordan-Debby Susanto (Ina) beat Reginald Lee Chun Hei-Chau Hoi-wah (Hkg) 17-21, 22-20. 21-14
Tontowi Ahmad-Liliyana Natsir (Ina) beat Liu Cheng-Li Yinhui (Chn) 21-13, 21-14
Choi Solgyu-Chae Yoo-jung (Kor) beat Zhang Nan-Huang Dongping (Chn) 21-19, 14-21, 21-19
