Lin Dan suffers shock defeat in China Masters
China Masters defending champion and top seed Lin Dan was shown the exit in the China Masters in Changzhou, Jiangsu on Saturday when he lost to compatriot Qiao Bin in the semi-finals.
Qiao Bin, ranked No 24 and seeded third in the China Masters, handed the newly crowned Malaysia Open champion a 21-16, 15-21, 21-14 beating in 69 minutes. The head-to-head count now stands at 1-1. Lin Dan had beaten his opponent in the 2015 Thaihot China Open.
It is certainly a demoralising defeat for the 33-year-old Lin Dan, who will be gunning for his fifth Asian title in next week's Badminton Asia Championships in Wuhan. Lin Dan is the fourth seed in the Badminton Asia Championships.
Qiao Bin will face another of China's rising stars, second seeded Tian Houwei who was also involved in a three-set battle against compatriot and fourth seed Huang Yuxiang. Houwei won 21-18, 17-21, 21-6 in 65 minutes.
It will be an all-Japan final in the women's singles between second seed Aya Ohori and fifth seed Saena Kawakami. Ohori crushed China's hope and No 8 seed Goa Fangjie 21-17, 21-13 while Kawakami came back from a set down to win 18-21, 21-11, 21-8 against unseeded Cai Yanyan of China.
There was also a major upset in the women's doubles when top seeds Huang Dongping-Li Yinhui were bundled out of the tournament by compatriots Bao Yixin-Yu Xiaohan who won 21-16, 21-18.
Mixed doubles also saw an upset when top seeds Zhang Nan-Li Yunhui were beaten 18-21, 21-23 by Taiwan's fourth seeds Liao Min-chan-Chen Hsiao-huan. Number two seeds Hafiz Faizal-Shela Devi Aulia of Indonesia were also knocked out in the semi-finals - losing 16-21, 8-21, to fifth seeds Wang Yilyu-Huang Dongping of China.
RESULTS (ALL SEMI-FINALS)
Men's singles
Qiao Bin (Chn) beat Lin Dan (Chn) 21-16, 15-21, 21-14
Tian Houwei (Chn) beat Huang Yuxiang (Chn) 21-18, 17-21, 21-6
Men's Doubles
Chen Hung Ling-Wang Chi Lin (Tpe) beat Hendra Setiawan-Tan Boon Heong (Ina/Mas) 21-14, 13-21, 21-18
Takuto Inoue-Yuki Kaneko (Jpn) beat Berry Angriawan-Hardianto Hardianto (Ina) 21-9, 21-13
Women's Singles
Aya Ohori (Jpn) beat Guao Fangjie (Chn) 21-17, 21-13
Saena Kawakami (Jpn) beat Cai Yanyan (Chn) 18-21, 21-11, 21-8
Women's Doubles
Huang Yaqiong-Tang Jinhua (Chn) beat Du Yue-Xu Ya (Chn) 17-21, 21-14, 21-17
Bao Yixin-Yu Xiaohan (Chn) beat Huang Dongping-Li Yinhui (Chn) 21-16, 21-18
Mixed Doubles
Wang Yilyu-Huang Dongping (Chn) beat Hafiz Faizal-Shela Devi Aulia (Ina) 21-16, 21-8
Liao Min-chun-Chen Hsiao-huan (Tpe) beat Zhang Nan-Li Yinhui (Chn) 21-18, 23-21
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