BADMINTON/Taiwan sweeps men's doubles semis at Canada Open

Taipei, July 5 (CNA) Badminton players from Taiwan have secured all four semifinal spots in the men's doubles at this year's BWF Canada Open, signifying in advance that the title will go to a Taiwanese pair for the first time in over a decade.

In addition to the top-seeded twin brothers Lee Fang-jen (李芳任) and Lee Fang-chih (李芳至), the other duos in the semifinals include He Zhi-wei (何志偉) and Huang Jui-hsuan (黃睿璿); Chang Ko-chi (張課琦) and Po Li-wei (柏禮維); and Wei Chun-wei (魏俊緯) and Yang Po-chih (楊博智).

The last time the Canadian Open men's doubles title was won by a Taiwanese pair was in 2014, when Liang Jui-wei (梁睿緯) and Lu Chia-pin (呂佳彬) accomplished the feat.

The Lee brothers, who finished third at the Swiss Open in late March this year, will go up against He and Huang for a spot in the final.

Meanwhile, Taiwanese female shuttlers Hsu Yin-hui (許尹鏸) and Lin Jhih-yun (林芝昀) also advanced to the women's doubles semifinals after they beat their counterparts Hu Ling-fang (胡綾芳) and Jheng Yu-chieh (鄭宇倢) 16-21, 21-16, 21-19 in the quarterfinals on Friday.

The other women's doubles semifinalists are Japanese pair Kaho Osawa and Mai Tanabe, who will be competing against Taiwanese players Chang Ching-hui (張淨惠) and Yang Ching-tun (楊景惇) for a berth in the final.

In the singles, world No. 6 Taiwanese badminton ace Chou Tien-chen (周天成) was ousted from the Canada Open on Friday after losing 18-21, 9-21 to Indian shuttler Srikanth Kidambi in the quarterfinals.