BADMINTON/Taiwan badminton ace Chou reaches Thailand Masters final

Bangkok, Feb. 3 (CNA) Taiwanese badminton ace Chou Tien-chen (周天成) reached the men's single final at the Thailand Masters on Saturday after winning his semi-final in straight games.

With a head-to-head record of 2-0, Chou needed just 34 minutes to dispatch Mark Caljouw from the Netherlands 21-15, 21-12.

Chou fell behind 0-3 at the beginning of the first game, but re-focused and managed to fight his way back into the match by winning nine of the next 10 points to lead 9-4. Caljouw then took five straight points to tie the score at 9-9, but Chou eventually settled better, taking the game 21-15.

In the second game, the lead changed several times, but after a tie at 5-5, Chou surged ahead and stayed there, winning the second game 21-12.

Chou told CNA after the match that he thought he performed well, adding that he remained focused and played aggressively.

He faces Singaporean second-seed Loh Kean Yew in Sunday's final.

The two have a head-to-head record of 3-3.

Meanwhile, Taiwanese shuttler Su Li-yang (蘇力揚) lost to Loh in Saturday's semifinals 14-21, 14-21.

Su said he never imagined he would reach the semifinals, and will now focus on preparing for the German Open, which starts on Feb. 27.

A Super 300 event, the Thailand Masters is taking place from Jan. 30 to Feb. 4.