World No 1 and top seed Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei suffered a shock exit in the USD600,000 Victor Korea Open Super Series in Seoul when she suffered a shock 23-21, 14-21, 21-18 defeat to Japan's Minatsu Mitani in the second round.
Tzu Ying, who skipped last month's World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland to play in the World University Games (Universiade) which her country hosted in Taipei, gave a below par performance in her 50-minute match.
While Tzu Ying fell by the wayside newly crowned world champion Nozomi Okuhara marched into the last eight at the expense of compatriot Sayaka Sato with a 21-16, 21-13 win.
Okuhara, a former world junior champion who won the World Super Series Finals in Dubai at the end of last year, will face Hong Kong's Yip Pui Yin who continued with her fine run in Seoul after being promoted from the qualifying rounds. Pui Yin came through a 21-16, 21-14 win over Indonesia's rising start Gregoria Mariska.
Third seed Sung Ji-hyun kept Korea's hopes alive in the women's singles without any problems after notching a 21-17, 21-13 win over compatriot Kim Hyo-min and will face China's sixth seed He Bingjiao. The Chinese knocked out Korean Lee Jang-mi 21-17, 21-16.
India's P.V. Sindhu who finished runners-up to Okuhara in the world meet is also through to the quarter-finals and will face giant-killer Mitani for a place in the semi-finals. The fifth seeded lanky Indian ousted Thailand's Nitchaon Jindapol 22-20, 21-17.
Sameer Verma in the quarter-finals. Sameer beat Hong Kong's Vincent Wing Ki 21-19, 21-13 while Japanese qualifier Kenta Nishimoto put an end to French pretender Brice Leverdez in 38 minutes with a 21-19, 21-13 victory for a clash against Indonesia's Anthony Ginting.
It was a good day for Malaysia in the mixed doubles with two of their pairs pairs in the quarter-finals.
Unseeded Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie reached their first Super Series quarter-finals since coming together 10 months ago. Soon Huat-Shevon Lai knocked out their better known compatriots and sixth seeds Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing, ranked No 9 in a 71-minute battle to prevail 24-26, 21-18, 21-18.
Keeping them company is the Chan Peng Soon-Cheah Yee See who upset England's husband and wife team Chris Adcock-Gabrielle Adcock. The Malaysians won 16-21, 21-18, 21-16 against the second seeded English after 71 minutes.
In the men's doubles Indonesian second seeds Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo packed off Malaysia's Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi 21-16, 22-20.
SECOND ROUND RESULTS (SELECTED)
Men's singles
Son Wan-ho (Kor) beat P. Kashyap (Ind) 21-16, 17-21, 21-16
Sameer Verman (Ind) beat Vincent Wong Wing Ki (Hkg) 21-19, 21-13
Kenta Nishimoto (Jpn) beat Brice Leverdez (Fra) 21-=19, 21-13
Anthony Ginting (Ina) beat Angus Ng Ka Long (Hkg) 21-18, 21-18
Jonatan Christie (Ina) beat Ygor Coelho (Bra) 21-16, 21-14
Hans Kristian Vittinghus (Den) beat Pannavit Thongnuam (Tha) 16-21, 21-16, 22-20
Wang Tze Wei (Tpe) beat B. Sai Praneeth (Ind) 21-13, 26-24
Kazumasa Sakai (Jpn) beat Anders Antonsen (Den) 9-21, 21-16, 21-6
Men's doubles
Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (Ina) beat Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (Mas) 21-16, 22-20
Takeshi Kamura-Keigo Sonoda (Jpn) Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (Den) 14-21, 21-19, 21-13
Women's singles
Minatsu Mitani (Jpn) beat Tai Tzu Ying (Tpe) 23-21. 14-21, 21-18
Nozomi Okuhara (Jpn) beat Sayaka Sato (Jpn) 21-16, 21-13
He Bingjiao (Chn) beat Lee Jang-mi (Kor) 21-17, 21-16
Sung Ji-hyun (Kor) beat Kim Hyo-min (Kor) 21-7, 21-13
P.V. Sindhu (Ind) beat Nitchaon Jindapol (Tha) 22-20, 21-17
Yip Pui Ying (Hkg) beat Gregoria Mariska (Ina) 21-16, 21-14
Women's doubles
Huang Yaqiong-Yu Xiaohan (Chn) beat Soong Fie Cho-Tee Jing Yu (Mas) 21-7, 21-17
Misaki Matsutomo-Ayaka Takahashi (Jpn) beat Baek Ha-na-Lee Yu-rim (Kor) 21-14, 21-15
Kim Hye-rin-Yoo Hee-won (Kor) beat Shiho Tanaka-Koharu Yonemoto (Jpn) 24-22, 22-20
Mixed doubles
Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie (Mas) beat Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing (Mas) 24-26, 21-18, 21-18
Soo Seung-jae-Kim Ha-na (Kor) beat Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet (Hkg) 12-21, 21-18, 24-22
Chang Peng Soon-Cheah Yee See (Mas) beat Chris Adcock-Gabrielle Adcock (Eng) 16-21, 21-18, 21-16
Marvin Emil Seidel-Lind Elfer (Ger) beat Kenta Kazuno-Ayane Kurihara (Jpn) 21-19, 21-17
