Chou Tien-chen advances to semi-finals in India

Taiwanese badminton veteran Chou Tien-chen on Friday advanced to the men’s singles semi-finals at the BWF World Championships in India, securing the second world championships medal of his career.

He was to play against Japan’s Kodai Naraoka after press time last night.

The 36-year-old world No. 6 defeated Indonesian rising star Alwi Farhan 21-15, 21-15 in 50 minutes to guarantee himself at least a bronze medal.

Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen celebrates winning his BWF World Championships men’s singles quarter-final match against Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan in New Delhi on Friday.

Photo: Reuters

Chou, who entered the match with a 2-1 career record against the world No. 12, used his defense and experience to neutralize Farhan’s attacks and claim his third win in their four meetings.

Chou after the match said that he took care of many of the details well during the match and was able to respond to many of the opponent’s tactics.

“His attacks were actually very sharp, but I went all out. I was able to defend successfully a lot of the time and maintained my advantage,” he said.

The opening game was closely contested from the start, with Chou winning a 60-shot rally to take his seventh point.

After Farhan scored three consecutive points, Chou capitalized on a series of unforced errors by the Indonesian to produce a 7-1 run and lead 14-11.

Leading 16-15, Chou was awarded a point when Farhan was called for serving above the permitted height. Farhan then lost four more points in a row as Chou closed out the game 21-15.

The second game remained tight until 11-11, when Chou began to take the upper hand as he switched up between the pace, drops and timely smashes.

Farhan was called for another service fault with Chou leading 14-12. The Taiwanese player later earned six match points with a body smash before securing victory when Farhan sent a net shot into the tape.

Chou said winning several long rallies shifted the momentum in his favor and boosted his confidence as the match progressed.

A regular BWF world championships quarter-finalist since making his tournament debut in 2013, Chou won his first medal at the event with a semifinal appearance in 2022.

“I won’t think about a particular goal,” Chou said. “I will just fight as hard as I can without any burden and leave everything to Jesus. I believe God will make the best arrangements.”

Meanwhile, Taiwan on Friday also secured a medal in men’s doubles as Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan upset world No. 2 Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri of Indonesia 21-19, 21-16.

The victory made Lee and Yang only the second Taiwanese pair to reach the men’s doubles semi-finals at the world championships, following Chen Hung-ling and Wang Chi-lin, who won bronze in 2018.

Lee and Yang were to face China’s Olympic silver medalists and world No. 3 pair Wang Chang and Liang Weikeng in the semi-finals last night after press time.