Seoul: The 36-year-old Lee Hyun Il of Korea still going strong these days, when he fought back and ultimately won the Korea Open men’s singles second round match against No. 3 seed Jan Jorgensen of Denmark.
Lee’s experience, skill and natural talent allowed him to rack up the 18-21, 21-18, 21-13 win against the Dane in 64 minutes at the Seong-Nam Indoor Stadium in Seoul on Thursday. He will take on last year’s runner-up Ajay Jayaram of India in the final eight after the Indian shuttler registered a 21-15, 21-18 victory over China’s Huang Yuxiang in 40 minutes.
After the match, Lee’s career head-to-head advantage against Jorgensen had risen to 3-2.
“I have to make some smart play today, and control the shuttle better,” said Lee.
“I can definitely feel I am losing my strength a little bit, but as long as I can maintain my fitness and keep in shape, I am still able to take on players of this level,” added Lee.
Men’s singles No. 6 seed Son Wan Ho also got huge cheers from the home crowd when Son came out as a winner against India’s B. Sai Praneeth 21-9, 21-15. Son will face Denmark’s Hans-Kristian Vittinghus in the final eight.
Last week’s Japan Open women’s singles champion He Bingjiao of China however suffered a setback when she was stunned by Japan’s Minatsu Mitani, losing 21-18, 19-21, 16-21. Mitani will set up a quarter-final clash with 18-year-old Chen Yufei of China who shocked the No.3 seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand 21-17, 21-17 in 47 minutes.
