Brilliant Porntip stuns world No 1 to reach semis

A day after the surprise exit of world No 2 Ratchanok Intanon, who was upset by South Korean Yeon Ju Bae 14-21 13-21 in the second round on Thursday, the 10th-ranked Thai added further shock to the tournament after 40 minutes of duel.

The Thai, who made the semi-finals in the Victor China Open in Shanghai last week before losing to Wang Shixian, used her quick attacking game to keep defending champion Li off balance to take the first game. She fought back from 11-15 down in the second to dominate play in the later stages of the second game, which featured several long exciting rallies.

“I just played an eye for an eye game with her. When you play the world No 1, you have to take risks and cut the points short,” added Porntip, who is guaranteed a spot in the Super Series Finals in Malaysia next month.

“I’m happy to reach the semi-finals as I have defended points from reaching the quarter-finals here last year. In the semi-finals against Wang Yihan, I have to give her a close match to put her under pressure,” added Porntip, who also beat world No 1 21-16 15-21 22-20 in the China Masters semi-final in September. In the men’s singles second round, Boonsak beat Hong Kong’s Nan Wei 21-13 21-10. He was due to face Hans-Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark last night.