Taiwanese shuttlers beat world No. 1 pair to reach Spain Masters semifinals

Taipei, April 1 (CNA) Taiwanese badminton twins Lee Fang-jen (李芳任) and Lee Fang-chih (李芳至) pulled a stunning upset at the Madrid Spain Masters on Friday, when they defeated the world No. 1 pair to reach the men's doubles semifinals.

Ranked world No. 53, the Lee brothers beat Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia 15-21, 22-20, 21-19 in the quarterfinals at the Polideportivo Municipal Gallur stadium in Madrid.

After losing the first game 15-21, the Taiwanese pair rallied to take a 20-17 lead in the second game and level the match.

The two teams were neck-and-neck in the third game, until the Lee brothers scored three consecutive points to hold off the Indonesians, and the Taiwanese sealed the match with a 21-19 win.

The Indonesian pair, ranked No. 1 in the world, had just won the men's doubles titles at the Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships March 14-19 and the Petronas Malaysia Open in January.

The Lee twins will next face their compatriots Su Ching-heng (蘇敬恒) and Ye Hong-wei (葉宏蔚) in the semifinals Saturday.

Su and Ye had advanced to the quarterfinals Friday with a win over the Japanese pair Shuntaro Mezaki and Haruya Nishida.

The Madrid Spain Masters, a BWF World Tour Super 300 event, is being held until Sunday.