Heat rising in badminton singles

There were some memorable battles on ASPIRE's badminton courts on Thursday evening as the quarterfinals in both the men's and women's singles took place. In the women's tournament, China's top seeded Zhang Ning was eliminated as second seed Xie Xingfang was taken to three sets before prevailing.

In the men's tournament, world champion Lin Dan (China) and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat (Indonesia) both moved through their respective halves of the draw in impressive fashion.

Zhang lost 19-21, 19-21 to Yip Pui Yin of Hong Kong, China. Zhang looked relatively comfortable in the first set, which she led 19-15, before losing the last six points to go one set adrift. Her poor run continued into the second set where she trailed 13-2 at one stage and was never able to catch Yip despite a late rally.

Afterwards, Zhang said: "Everyone has ups and downs. I don't know if it was pressure or if my self-expectations were too high or not high enough. I just was not in such a good state today."

Of Yip, she commented: "She plays a little bit like a man in terms of her smashes and attacking style. She is an opponent who likes to smash the shuttle. I knew I could lose to her in this regard."

A delighted Yip said: "I didn't think I would play so well. I think my opponent may have been tired because she has played so many matches. I have never beaten her before after four attempts. I may be too happy to sleep tonight. I tried to stay in all the points and not to rush. I was trying to take opportunities when they came.

"All the pressure was on her to play well. My mind was clear and I just had to ride out the point. I did feel a little pressure towards the end." Looking ahead to the semifinals, she said: "Once again, I will try and play my best. I have no pressure as I have reached my main goal. I have the stamina to play as I have trained very hard."

Yip will meet Hwang Hye Yeon of Korea) in the semifinals after the No 8 seed's victory over Xing Aiying (Singapore) 14-21, 21-15, 21-18. The other semi will consist of Xie who survived a tough test against Japan's Eriko Hirose 21-7, 22-24, 21-16 and Wang Chen of Hong, Kong China, who beat Lee Yun Hwa (Korea) 23-21, 21-8.

On the men's side, top seed Lin Dan cruised past Ng Wei 21-15, 21-13. This sets up an intriguing semifinal clash with Lee Hyun Il who beat Muhammad Hafiz Hashim (Malaysia) 22-20 21-6. Lee beat Lin in their singles rubber in the men's team final earlier this week.

The other semifinal will feature Hidayat and Lee Ching Wei (Malaysia). Defending champion Hidayat had a surprisingly easy time against No3 seed Bao Chunlai (China) 21-16, 21-14, whilst second seed Lee was given a scare by Boonsak Ponsana (Thailand) before emerging triumphant 20-22, 21-11, 21-7.

Afterwards, Hidayat said: "I guess I just played lucky today. I always do my best and try one match at a time. I wanted to win, especially because there are not many Indonesian players left in the men's singles. So my heart and spirit to win was really into it."

Bao said: "I didn't play to my true level of ability today. He is really fast. I was too passive and didn't take the initiative. I feel like I didn't give him a fight. I was playing without confidence and I couldn't get into the rhythm."

The men's and women's singles badminton semifinals will all take place at ASPIRE on Friday 8 December.

By 15th Asian Games, Doha 2006