Taiwan's top female shuttler reaches All England Open quarterfinals

Taipei, March 17 (CNA) Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) on Thursday defeated Thailand's Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-19, 21-12 to reach the quarterfinals of the BWF All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham.

Tai, the world No. 3, needed only 40 minutes to close out the round-of-16 matchup at the Utilita Arena.

In the opening game, the Taiwanese shuttler established an early 10-5 cushion, before an aggressive Ongbamrungphan fought her way back into the tie, winning nine straight points to take a 10-14 lead.

The pair traded leads to bring the scores to 18-19, but Tai was able to hold her nerve and win the first game 21-19.

After a 2-2 tie early in the second, Tai managed to keep her opponent at bay, leading 12-10 before sealing the match 21-12.

With the victory, Tai has won 15 of their 18 previous encounters.

Tai is currently also the only Taiwanese shuttler to remain in the tournament after Wang Tzu-wei (王子維) and Chou Tien-chen (周天成) crashed out in the opening round of the men's singles Tuesday. Meanwhile, Pai Yu-po (白馭珀) lost in the round of 48, while Hsu Wen-chi (許玟琪), who entered the tournament in the last 16, also fell at the first hurdle.

Tai will next face Chinese player He Bingjiao (何冰嬌) in the quarterfinals on Friday.

The All England Open Badminton Championships is a BWF Super 1000 event that is being held until Sunday.

Tai won the women's singles title three times, in 2017, 2018 and 2020.