Chou Tien-chen Battles into Asian Badminton Championships Semifinals, Securing at Least Bronze After 7 Years

In the history of the Asian Badminton Championships, only Chen Feng, who transferred from Indonesia in 1999, and Chou Tien-chen in 2019, have won men's singles bronze medals. After Chou Tien-chen advanced to the semifinals today, he has already secured at least his second Asian Championships medal.

World No. 6 Chou Tien-chen had faced World No. 11 Loh Kean Yew 10 times before the match, with their wins split evenly.

At the start of the first game today, Loh Kean Yew maintained a lead for most of the time with his aggressive offense and excellent rhythm changes, and then scored 5 consecutive points at 13-13 to lay the foundation for winning the first game.

In the second game, it was Chou Tien-chen's turn to counterattack. He accelerated and exerted force from the start, seizing opportunities to smash and score multiple times, quickly building a huge lead of 14-2, successfully tying the match at one game apiece.

The crucial third game saw a back-and-forth battle. When Chou Tien-chen was trailing 12-16 in the middle of the game, he relied on multi-shot rallies, precise drop shots, and two critical judgment errors from Loh Kean Yew, allowing Chou Tien-chen to score 8 consecutive points and reach 20-16 with 4 match points.

Although Loh Kean Yew managed to save one match point, the final point involved over 50 shots. Unexpectedly, Loh Kean Yew initiated an aggressive jump smash to the backcourt but hit the net, resulting in an error. Both players collapsed on the court after the match. After getting up, Chou Tien-chen proactively walked to the other side of the court and embraced Loh Kean Yew in a gesture of respect.

Chou Tien-chen said after the match that Loh Kean Yew is a respectable opponent. "Every time I play against him, I gain a lot. I'm very happy to reach the semifinals, and I will maintain a normal mindset and see if I can make further breakthroughs."

Chou Tien-chen's opponent in the men's singles semifinals will be the winner between China's Shi Yuqi and Japan's Kenta Nishimoto. (Edited by Hsieh Ya-chu) 1150410