BADMINTON/Chou Tien-chen advances to Thailand Open semifinals

Taipei, May 15 (CNA) Taiwan's top male badminton player Chou Tien-chen (周天成) advanced to the men's singles semifinals at the 2026 Thailand Open on Friday after defeating South Korea's Jeon Hyeok-jin in three games.

The world No. 6 Chou, seeded fourth at the Super 500 tournament, beat the world No. 38 21-18, 21-23, 21-14 in a 75-minute match, improving to 3-1 in their career head-to-head.

The result marks Chou's second straight semifinal appearance after he also reached the last four at the 2026 Asia Championships, where he lost to China's Shi Yuqi (石宇奇), the eventual champion.

Before the Asia Championships, Chou had reached the quarterfinals only once in his previous seven tournaments.

On Saturday, Chou faces either Thailand's world No. 2 Kunlavut Vitidsarn or India's world No. 11 Lakshya Sen, the tournament's second and seventh seeds, respectively.