BADMINTON/Tai Tzu-ying breezes into Taipei Open quarterfinals

Taipei, Sept. 5 (CNA) Five-time Taipei Open champion Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) continued her dominance on home turf as she advanced to the tournament's women's singles quarterfinals with a straight-game victory on Thursday.

Entering the tournament as the top seed, the former world No. 1 cruised past compatriot Yang Yu-chi (楊育綺) 21-16, 21-17 at the Taipei Arena en route to her third straight title. This is the first time the tournament has taken place at the arena since 2019.

The match was largely under Tai's control, with the two briefly tying at 3-3 in Game 2 -- the only time they stood neck and neck during the 34-minute match.

Still struggling with a knee injury, Tai said she felt more relaxed after hearing Lin Yin-chou (林瀛洲), a doctor from Chang Gung Memorial Hospital who has been treating her knee, cheering for her.

"I found where he was right after I heard his voice. I'm very glad to see Doctor Lin because he's very busy. I'm happy that he could come to see me play," she said, adding that Lin's presence helped her feel "reassured" while competing.

The match marked the end of Yang's professional career. At age 23, Yang plans to coach at Siluo Junior High School in Yunlin County after hanging up her racket.

Speaking of her loss, the 1.49-meter-tall Yang sobbed and admitted feeling disadvantaged by her height, explaining that it forced her to give her absolute best in every match.

"Being able to play Xiao Tai in the last match of my career, I have no regrets. I'm thankful that she also tried her best to beat me," Yang said.

Tai also plans to retire after the 2024 season.

Tai's triumph came after she defeated Tanya Hemanth of India on Wednesday in under half an hour. However, given her injury, the 30-year-old veteran remains unsure whether she will be able to finish the Super 300 event.

She said she will take a rest if she cannot finish the tournament; otherwise, she will keep competing overseas.

Several other Taiwanese shuttlers also played on Thursday, including Olympians Chou Tien-chen (周天成) in men's singles, Ye Hong-wei (葉宏蔚) and Lee Chia-hsin (李佳馨) in mixed doubles, and Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) in men's doubles.

The top-seeded Chou, returning from a lung injury sustained during the Japan Open in late August, took down Soong Joo Ven (宋侞紋) of Malaysia 21-8, 21-17, edging one step closer to his fifth championship at the tournament and his second title of the year.

Likewise, Ye and Lee conquered another Taiwanese pair, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤) and Lin Jhih-yun (林芝昀), 21-12, 23-21.

Meanwhile, two-time Olympic gold medalists Lee and Wang, also ranked top seeds, were upset by compatriots Yang Po-han (楊博涵) and Liu Guang-heng (劉廣珩) 21-15, 15-21, 20-22 in their potential last match.

Lee has decided to retire at the end of this year and is uncertain if he will play in the BWF World Tour Finals in December.

He said he would not participate in other tournaments after winning gold at the Paris Olympics in early August.