Fabian Peter
KUALA LUMPUR: World junior champion, Goh Jin Wei is looking forward to playing former Olympic champion Li Xuerui of China after reaching the Korea Masters semi-finals today.
In the quarter-finals, seventh seed Jin Wei faced no problem in dispatching her Taiwanese opponent, Chiang Ying Li, 21-9, 21-6 in just 26 minutes.
Xuerui, who made a comeback in April after nearly two years on the sidelines, made easy work of Indonesia’s Fitriani Fitriani, chalking up a 21-14, 21-12 win, also in 26 minutes.
Jin Wei said: “Winning the world junior title earlier this month has definitely boosted my confidence.
“However, I don’t want to get big headed. It may seem like I had an easy match in the quarter-finals because of the score, but it wasn’t.
"On my semi-final match against Xuerui, I am looking forward to it. She’s a great player and a former world No 1. I know I can learn a lot from her tomorrow.”
Since making a comeback after a career threatening injury at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, 27-year-old Xuerui has gone on to win three titles on the trot (China Masters, US and Canada Opens).
Meanwhile, former Asian Games gold medallist, Tan Boon Heong, continued his impressive run to reach the men’s doubles semi-finals with his South Korean partner, Kim Sa Rang.
In the last eight, the mix-combo upset fifth seeds Berry Angriawan-Hardianto Hardianto of Indonesia 21-16, 21-17.
Boong Heong-Sa Rang, playing in only their second tournament together, will meet Taiwan’s Po Li Wei-Wang Chi Lin next for a place in the final.
It was, however, the end of the road for national men’s singles shuttler, Soong Joo Ven, who crashed out in the quarter-finals after going down 21-16, 16-21, 21-15 to Thailand's Sitthikom Thammasin.