10 March, 2017

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PETALING JAYA:  Mixed doubles shuttlers Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying exacted sweet revenge to enter the All-England quarter-finals. 

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On Friday, the Olympic silver medallists defeated reigning German Open champions Zhang Nan-Li Yinhui of China 9-21, 23-21, 21-17 in the second round at Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham. 

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Just a week ago, they lost to the same pair in the quarter-finals at the German Open in Mulheim. 

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The Malaysians will take on qualifiers Wang Yilyu-Huang Dongping of China for a place in the semi-finals on Friday. 

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The unseeded Yilyu-Dongping pulled of a stunning win over top seeds and World Superseries Finals champions Zheng Siwei-Chen Qingchen of China in the quarters on Friday. 

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It was only Liu Ying's second tournament this year after coming back from a recurring knee injury. 

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"We came close to beating them (Zhang-Li) in Germany but this time, we pulled it off," said a delighted Liu Ying. 

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"Our start was not good though. We struggled to find our rhythm. We were lucky to escape with a win in the second game. We stepped up in the decider and fought all out. It's great to beat them. 

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"Our next opponents are unseeded but they have beaten the favourites. We'll give our best to reach the semis," added Liu Ying. 

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It was also a great day for top seeds and Rio Olympic silver medallists Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong when they stormed into the men's doubles quarter-finals with a 21-12, 21-16 win over Liu Xiaolong-Xu Chen of China. 

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The world No. 1 pair will take on fifth seeds Li Junhui-Liu Yuchen of China and one can expect the match to go down the wire. 

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It was all over for Woon Khe Wei-Vivian Hoo and Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing when they went down to South Korean opponents in the women's doubles and mixed doubles events respectively. 

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Khe Wei-Vivian went down fighting 21-17, 12-21, 17-21 to third seeds Jung Kyung-eun-Shin Seung-chan while Kian Meng-Pei Jing lost 15-21, 9-21 to Yoo Yeon-seong-Kim Ha-na in the second round. 

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Earlier, three-time Olympic silver medallist Lee Chong Wei had also checked into the men's singles quarter-finals to set up a match against Tian Houwei of China. 

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It was all over for Olympic champion Chen Long of China and second seed Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark on Thursday. 

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Chen Long lost 16-21, 19-21 to Thailand's Tanongsak Saensonboonsuk, while Jorgensen went down 16-21, 13-21 to Japan's Kazumasa Sakai.  

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Tanongsak faces Taiwan's Chou Tien-chen while Kazumasa plays Shi Yuqi of China. 

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Five-time world champion Lin Dan of China defeated compatriot Huang Yuxiang 21-16, 21-11 to set up a match against Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.  

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He lost to Axelsen during the Olympic bronze medal playoff in Rio last year.

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The Star Online