Minh, Trang ready for semi-final

Beating the world junior No 1 Christie Jonatan 23-21, 21-15, top title candidate Nguyen Tien Minh wrote his name in the semi-final round of the Ciputra Hanoi – Yonex Sunrise Vietnam International Challenge 2014.

Vietnamese Minh, despite being the world No 10 seed, had to work hard to beat the Indonesian in the first set, which saw both players competing neck-to-neck throughout the match.


Jonatan, 17, played equally with the host athlete until the 19-all when his lack-of-experience background failed to help him in the crucial moments. He let Minh come over and won 23-21.

The first set win gave Minh a strong boost in the second as the tournament's No 1 set up his domination while Jonatan made many errors and his returns mainly hit the net.

Minh's next rival will be Chia-hsin Wai, No 4, of Chinese Taipei who beat Fikri Ihsandi Hadmadi of Indonesia yesterday.

On the women's side Vu Thi Trang of Viet Nam, seeded No 4, also entered the semi-finals after beating Taipei Shih Ying Chen 21-14, 21-16.

The world No 119, who is playing perfectly at this competition, is expected to enter the top 100 in the BWF new ranking which will be released next week.

Her rival will be the winner of the match between Chinese Yujing Jiang and Rusydina Antardayu Riodingin from Indonesia.