As it happened - Badminton Korea Open 2022, day three: PV Sindhu, An Seyoung win, Chen Yu Fei knocked out

End of play

We have come to an end of an exciting day at the Korea Open that gave us the top eight players/teams across disciplines. 

Most big names, including PV Sindhu, An Seyoung, Pornpawee Chochuwong, Kidambi Srikanth, Son Wan Ho and Jonatan Christie, brushed aside challenges to book a spot in the quarter-finals.

Indonesia's Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan and India's Chirag Shetty/Satwiksairaj Rankireddy also made it through in the men’s doubles.

However, the upset of the day was Olympic gold medallist Chen Yu Fei’s loss to unseeded Kim Gaeun in the women’s singles at the start of the day. 

India’s rising talent Lakshya Sen, seeded sixth in the men's singles, also exited the competition following a defeat to Shesar Hiren Rhustavito.

The matches are going to get more intense in the quarter-finals on Friday and we will cover all the action again on our live blog.

Until then, good bye and stay safe.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty move through

The India Open winners Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty moved into the last eight of the men’s doubles after defeating Singapore’s Hee Yong Kai Terry and Loh Kean Hean.

The Singaporean’s upped their game in the latter stage of the match but it was too late to catch up with the high-flying Indians.

Score: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty 21-15, 21-19 Hee Yong Kai Terry/Loh Kean Hean

An Seyoung flies through

That’s it. We have the final eight players in the women’s quarters as An Seyoung joins the list.

The change of ends had little effect on the outcome of the match, with An Seyoung continuing her forward march in the tournament. There were moments of brilliance from Yeo Jia Min but nothing that could really challenge the 20-year-old South Korean.

Score: An Seyoung 21-10, 21-10 Yeo Jia Min

Satwik-Chirag look strong

In the men’s doubles, India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have taken the first game 21-15 against Singapore’s Hee Yong Kai Terry and Loh Kean Hean.

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An Seyoung in driver’s seat

All-England semi-finalist An Seyoung of South Korea, who is the world No. 4, is showing her class against Singaporean Yeo Jia Min, ranked 16, for the final quarter-final berth in the women’s singles.

An Seyoung’s smashes and drives earned her plenty of points and despite the strong net game from Yeo Jia Min, the South Korean wins the first game 21-10.

Kidambi Srikanth zooms into quarters

That was quick!

Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth had to work hard in the first game but eventually managed to win 21-18.

However, the Indian shifted gears in the second game, cruising to a massive 12-0 lead before Misha Zilberman could open his account. Srikanth shrugged off the challenge effortlessly to wrap up the match in 33 minutes.

Score: Kidambi Srikanth 21-18, 21-16 Misha Zilberman

Kidambi Srikanth in action

World championship silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth of India is up against Misha Zilberman of Israel in the next men’s singles encounter. This is only their second meeting ever, with the first going in the Indian’s favour.

Kidambi Srikanth, ranked 12 in the world - 38 places above the Israeli, has made a cautious start to the match and trails 7-5.

Other results

Goh Jin Wei (Malaysia) 21-17, 17-21, 21-12 Lee Se Yeon (South Korea) - women’s singles

NG Tze Yong (Malaysia) 21-14, 21-19 Kim DongHun (South Korea) - women’s singles

Saena Kawakami (Japan) 21-13, 21-6 Yaelle Hoyaux (France) - women’s singles

Weng Hong Yang (China) 21-14, 17-21, 21-18 Cheam June Wei (Malaysia) - men’s singles

Tan Kian Meng/Lai Pei Jung (Malaysia) 21-11, 21-9 Na Sung Seung/Kim Min Ji (South Korea) - mixed doubles

Benyapa Aimsaard/Nuntakarn Aimsaard (Thailand) 21-10, 21-19 Vivian Hoo/Lim Chiew Sien (Malaysia) - women’s doubles

Rinov Rivaldy/Pitha Mentari (Indonesia) 21-14, 19-21, 26-24 Dong Ju Ki/Kim Hyerin (South Korea) - mixed doubles 

Oi Xuan Yi/Huang Ya Qiong (China) 22-20, 18-21, 21-14 BS Reddy/Ashwini Ponnappa (India) - mixed doubles

MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila retired

Mohamad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan were declared winners after MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila retired after just eight minutes into the first game. 

Ahsan/Setiawan were leading 8-5. They are through to the quarter-finals.

Daddies on court

The men’s doubles pre-quarters gets underway with the seasoned Indonesian duo of Mohamad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan, ranked second in the world, against India’s MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila.

The Indians currently lead 5-4 in the first game.

Sindhu beats Aya Ohori

PV Sindhu extended her winning record against Aya Ohori with a comprehensive 21-15, 21-10 victory in the round of 16. She took 37 minutes to notch up her 12th win in as many games against Ohori.

Sindhu will be up against Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the quarter-finals.

Sindhu inches closer

Ranked 7 in the world, PV Sindhu was trailing 8-4 in the second game but won four points on the trot to level the score and then went up 11-9 at the break. The world No. 26 Aya Ohori needs to turn things around, quickly.

Busanan, Kunlavut in last eight

Despite a stiff challenge from Wang Zhi Yi, women's singles seventh seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan manages to prevail 21-17, 17-21, 21-18 in 70 minutes. The match could have gone either way until the very end and credit needs to be given to Wang Zhi for the phenomenal effort.

Meanwhile, Kunlavut Vitidsarn, the eighth seed in men's singles, goes past Jan Louda 21-12, 21-15 in 51 minutes.

PV Sindhu wins opening game

Tokyo Olympics bronze winner PV Sindhu brushed aside the challenge from Aya Ohori in the first game to go up 21-15. The Indian looks poised to extend her unbeaten run against the Japanese.

PV Sindhu takes on Aya Ohori

Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu from India is facing Japan’s Aya Ohori in the women’s singles round of 16 match on court 4. 

Sindhu, seeded third, has never been beaten in the last 11 meetings against Ohori. However, it’s been an equal contest in the first game so far with both shuttlers going toe to toe.

Score: PV Sindhu 11-9 Aya Ohori

Kunlavut Vitidsarn races ahead

World No. 18 Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand, seeded in eighth in the men’s singles, is taking on the unseeded Jan Louda of Czech Republic. 

German Open winner Kunlavut looked strong in the opening game, racing to a 9-5 lead before wrapping it up 21-12.

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Chen Yu Fei ousted

Tokyo Olympics champion and top seed Chen Yu Fei has been knocked out of the Korean Open by Kim Gaeun in straight games.

Ranked 20 in the world, Kim Gaeun showed strong character to not only challenge world No. 3 but also take the hard earned victory - her first in four meetings.

Score: Kim Gaeun 21-17, 21-19 Chen Yu Fei

Pornpawee Chochuwong through to quarters

Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong proved too strong for the young Malvika Bansod from India. The youngster put up a much improved showing in the second game but could not match up to the Thai’s experience. 

Score: Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-8, 21-14 Malvika Bansod

Olympic champion faces stiff chalenge

A shaky start from the world No. 3 Chen Yu Fei sees her trailing 5-1 against Kim Gaeun but the Olympic gold medallist bounces back, courtesy of her impeccable drop shots that are too difficult to defend. However, Kim has shown great composure to collect plenty of points. The game can still go either way.

Score: Chen Yu Fei 14-14 Kim Gaeun

Chen Yu Fei in action

Tokyo 2020 champion Chen Yu Fei from China, who is seeded on top in the women’s singles, will face local shuttler Kim Gaeun for a place in the last eight. 

The two have taken the court and are warming up for the contest.

Pornpawee Chochuwong surges ahead

Playing her first tournament since the world championships in December, Pornpawee Chochuwong does not look like she has been out of action at all.
A clinical display in the opening game sees the world No. 10 go up 21-8 against Malvika Bansod, ranked 65.

Meanwhile, we have another women’s singles match going on at court 2 between Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan, who won the Indian Open in January, and Wang Zhi Yi of China.

It’s been a tight contest so far with Busanan narrowly ahead 11-9

Ratchanon Intanon beats Kirsty Gilmour

Ratchanok Intanon extends her winning run against Kirsty Gilmour with a comprehensive 21-14, 21-14 in the round of 16.

The Thai was never really challenged by Kirsty in both games and wrapped up the match in just over half an hour. 

Ratchanok will face the winner between Pornpawee Chochuwong and Malvika Bansod, who have already begun their pre-quarter clash on Court 3.

Ratchanok Intanon nears victory

After winning the first game 21-14, Ratchanok Intanon continued her domination after the change of ends. Kirsty Gilmour’s unforced errors are only making things easier for the Thai.

As things stand, it looks like the match is going in Ratchanok’s favour.

Score: Ratchanok 21-14, 12-8.

Intanon cruising ahead

A shaky start from Ratchanok but the world No. 8 finds the rhythm with her smart shuttle placement and impressive court coverage. Kirsty, ranked 19 in the world, needs to find a way to break the Thai’s momentum.

Score: Ratchanok Intanon 18-11 Kirsty Gilmour

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Ratchanok Intanon on court

Former world champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand is on the court for her round of 16 match against Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour.

The Thai boasts a 5-1 head-to-head record against the Scot but the two haven’t played each other since 2019. Will it be Ratchanok’s day again or can Kirsty beat the odds?

Mixed doubles third seeds Goh/Lai ousted

Malaysian pair of Goh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie, seeded third, were knocked out by Hiroki Midorikawa and Natsu Saito of Japan 21-15, 23-21.

We have two more mixed doubles matches going down to the wire in Suncheon.

On Court 3, India’s Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa, despite leading for the majority of the opening game, went down 22-20 to Chinese Ou Xuan Yi and Huang Ya Qiong.

Meanwhile, the sixth seeded pair of Rinov Rivaldy and Pitha Mentari from Indonesia is fighting it out against the home team of Dong Ju ki and Kim Hyerin. The Indonesian duo took the first game 21-14 but lost 19-21 in the next to move into the decider.

Lakshya Sen knocked out

The 20-year-old Lakshya Sen could not match up to unseeded Shesar Hiren Rhustavito’s tactics in the second game and went down without much fight.

An unexpected end to the sixth seeded Indian’s campaign, he was one of the top contenders for the men's singles title at the event.

Score: Shesar Hiren Rhustavito 22-20, 21-9 Lakshya Sen

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Lakshya Sen loses opener

Lakshya Sen upped the challenge post the break, going from trailing 14-10 to match 16-16. The Indian was two points away from taking the opener but Rhustavito fought back to level 19-19.

The Indonesian won three of the next four points and clinched the opening game 22-20.

Lakshya Sen trails

World No. 9 Lakshya Sen made a wobbly start against Shesar Hiren Rhustavito, ranked 24 in the world. The two fight point for point in the opening game but it’s the lower-ranked Indonesian that has the lead in the first break.

Score: Shesar Hiren Rhustavito 11-9 Lakshya Sen

Meanwhile, the three other mixed doubles matches have ended with all teams that were trailing after the first game coming back to win the next two.

Scores

Kim WonHo/Jeong Na Eun beat Hee Yong Kai Terry/Tan Wei Han 19-21, 21-18, 21-12

Ko Sung Hyun/Eom Hye Won beat Kang Minhyuk/Baek Ha Na 16-21, 21-19, 21-8

Adnan Maulan/Mychelle Bandaso beat Tae Yang Shin/Chang Ye Na 12-21, 21-10, 21-9

Viktor Svendsen in quarters

World No. 75 Viktor Svendsen is in the men’s singles quarters with a 21-14, 21-18 victory over French Lucas Claerbout, ranked 67. It was an equally contested fixture in the early exchanges but the Dane raced ahead after the first mid-game break. Lucas tried to mount a comeback in the second but could not match up. The match ended in 47 minutes.

Next up is the young Lakshya Sen, who is seeded sixth, from India against Indonesia’s Shesar Hiren Rhustavito.

Top seeds out

The top mixed doubles pair Seo Seungjae and Chae YuJung is out of the tournament due to unknown reasons. Their Malaysian opponents Ong Yew Sin and Goh Liu Ying have been given a walkover.

Meanwhile, the matches on other courts are being fought intensely in the opening games.

Hee Yong Kai Terry and Tan Wei Han lead 16-15 against Kim WonHo and Jeong Na Eun. While the all-South Korean contest between Ko Sung Hyun/Eom Hye Won and Kang Minhyuk/Baek Ha Na is locked at 13-13.

In the men’s singles, Viktor Svendsen took the opening game against Lucas Claerbout 21-14.

Action begins in few minutes

We start the day with matches on all four courts, including the mixed doubles top seeds Seo Seungjae and Chae YuJung on Court 4.

Court 1 - Hee Yong Kai Terry/Tan Wei Han (Singapore) vs Kim WonHo/Jeong Na Eun (South Korea) - mixed doubles

Court 2 - Ko Sung Hyun/Eom Hye Won (South Korea) vs Kang Minhyuk/Baek Ha Na (South Korea) - mixed doubles

Court 3 - Lucas Claerbout (France) vs Viktor Svendsen (Denmark) - men’s singles

Court 4 - Seo Seungjae/Chae YuJung (South Korea) vs Ong Yew Sin/Goh Liu Ying (Malaysia) - mixed doubles

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Quarter-final spots on the line

The third day of action at badminton's Korea Open 2022 has the big stars of the tournament on court on Thursday (7 April) looking to book a place in the quarter-finals.

The Super 500 event on the BWF World Tour calendar has tournament second seed and home favourite An Seyoung going up against Singapore's Yeo Jia Min, while Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei plays Kim Gaeun from South Korea.

The crown in Suncheon will also be cheering for former men's singles world No.1, Son Wan Ho who will face a real test on his return to compeittion after a two year hiatus when he faces Thailand's Kantaphon Wangcharoen.

Another exciting player to watch is India's Lakshya Sen who is seeded sixth for this tournament, as he goes up against Indonesia's Shesar Hiren Rhustavito.

If you missed any of the action from the previous day, be sure to read our recap from Day 2 to get you up to speed.

Follow all the action from the third day of the Korea Open 2022 with our live updates. Be sure to refresh the page for the latest posts.