BADMINTON/Taiwanese shuttlers advance to Swiss Open semifinals

Taipei, March 22 (CNA) Taiwanese shuttlers Lin Chun-yi (林俊易) and twin brothers Lee Fang-jen (李芳任) and Lee Fang-chih (李芳至) defeated their respective opponents to advance to the Swiss Open semifinals on Friday.

Competing in the men's doubles, the world No. 21 Lee brothers pulled a stunning upset to beat Indonesians Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani 21-19, 14-21, 21-13 in the quarterfinals at the St. Jakobshalle arena in Basel.

Both teams put up a tough fight in the opener to tie the score 10-10 before the mid-game interval, but then the Taiwanese were able to pull ahead with consecutive points to take the first win.

Due to a series of unforced errors, the Lee brothers quickly fell behind and eventually lost the second game 14-21.

In the third, the twin shuttlers rallied to take the lead 11-9 and then reeled off another six points to widen the gap before sealing the match in victory.

They will next face Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Daniel Marthin, both from Indonesia, in the semifinals.

Meanwhile, the world No. 11 Taiwanese shuttler Lin bested Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand 21-16, 21-15 in the men's singles quarterfinals that lasted 43 minutes on Friday.

Lin's victory was due to his strategy of effectively keeping his opponent under pressure through smashes and attacking the net, his coach Feng Sheng-chieh (馮勝杰) told CNA after the match.

Lin will next face the eighth-seeded Weng Hongyang (翁泓陽) of China in the semifinals.

The Swiss Open is a Badminton World Federation World Tour Super 300 event being held until Sunday.