OLYMPICS/Taiwan's Chou knocked out of Tokyo Olympics with quarterfinal loss

Taipei, July 31 (CNA) Taiwan's top male badminton player Chou Tien-chen (周天成) ended his Olympic medal bid on Saturday, when he fell to Chen Long (諶龍) of China in a tight quarterfinal match in Tokyo.

The second-seeded Chou lost 14-21, 21-9, 14-21, in a grueling 74-minute match against Chen at the Musashino Forest Plaza.

They both showed a well-stitched all-court play and remained neck-and-neck early in the first game, but Chen quickly pulled ahead, opening up with a 10-point lead, and Chou found it hard to catch up.

In the second game, the Taiwanese fought back with an early 12-point lead and went on to tie the match 1-1.

The last game started in the same fashion, with each player forcing the other to run all over the court. Chou's attack began wilting after he took a slender 13-11 lead, however, and Chen pressed home, winning the game by seven points.

With that quarterfinal loss, Chou's hopes of a medal in the Tokyo Olympics ended.

In 2014, the 31-year-old Chou became the first Taiwanese to take a men's singles title at a Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super Series event, when he won the French Open.