Gwangju City: Former World No. 1 men’s pair Lee Yong-Dae/Yoo Yeon-Seong survived a stiff challenge from Chinese youngsters Ren Xiangyu/Tan Qiang 21-12, 20-22, 21-18 to advance to the second round of Korea Masters on Wednesday. The duo are set to meet compatriots Kang Ji Wook/Lee Sang Joon next.
Malaysia’s men’s doubles pair of Goh V Shem/Teo Ee Yi also put up a spirited display to outlast Lee Sheng Mu/Lin Chia Yu of Taiwan 22-20, 17-21, 22-20 in 46 minutes. Goh/Teo will play No 5 seeds Bodin Isara/Nipitphon Phuangphuapet of Thailand on Thursday.
In men’s singles, Malaysia’s Chong Wei Feng breezed past Zhou Zeqi of China comfortably 21-14, 21-15 and will meet Khosit Phetpradab from Thailand in the third round.
Men’s singles top seed Son Wan Ho also handed easy passage into the third round as he beat compatriot Heo Kwang Hee 21-10, 21-14 and will face compatriot Kim Min Ki next.
The women’s competition, Malaysia’s Soniia Cheah had to dig deep before beating Fitriani Fitriani of Indonesia 21-18, 16-21, 21-16 and will be playing Wang Zhiyi of China in the second round.
Thailand’s No. 2 seed Nitchaon Jindapol has little issues against Chinese Taipei’s Tang Wan Yi by beating her 21-10, 21-9. In an upset, the unseeded Dao Fangjie of China fought for 66 minutes to overcome No. 4 seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand 11-21, 21-15, 21-17.
Korea Masters Grand Prix Gold is an international badminton tournament that usually held in November or December every year of BWF event calendar in South Korea. The total prize money in 2017 was US$120,000.
