Hyderabad: Malaysia’s World No. 84 men’s singles player Iskandar Zulkarnain continued his excellent run of form by casting aside Chinese player Bai Yupeng 21-16, 12-21, 21-13 to march his way into the final four of Hyderabad Open on Friday.
He will take on World No. 44 Sourabh Verma of India in the semi-finals.
The unseeded Loh Kean Yew of Singapore who defeated Lin Dan at Thailand Masters earlier this year, stunned No. 5 seed Subhankar Dey of India 21-11, 21-16 to advance to semi-final. He will battle Heo Kwang Hee of Korea for the final berth.
Meanwhile, Malaysian mixed doubles pair Hoo Pang Ron/Cheah Yee See survived a strong test from Tanupat Viriyangkura/Kwanchanok Sudjaipraparat of Thailand to advance through the bracket, as they need to dig deep to beat the Thai pair 21-19, 21-23, 21-19 in 53 minutes.
Hoo/Cheah are set to clash with Ratchapol Makkasasithorn/Benyapa Aimsaard of Thailand on Saturday.
In women’s singles competition, Korea’s 17-year-old sensation, An Se-Young, played brilliantly to sweep past Benyapa Aimsaard of Thailand 21-17, 21-16 to meet another Thai player, Porntip Buranaprasertsuk next.
