Lee Cheuk-yiu reaches first badminton final in 4 years at Thailand Open
- The 26-year-old cruises to 21-14, 21-16 win over France’s Toma Popov in the Bangkok semi-finals on Saturday
- Lee last reached a world tour final in front of a home crowd when he lifted Hong Kong Open title in 2019
Hong Kong badminton star Lee Cheuk-yiu reached his first final on the world tour in four years after cruising to a 2-0 win over Toma Popov of France at the Thailand Open on Saturday.
At Bangkok’s Indoor Stadium Huamark, the 26-year-old needed only 35 minutes to send his French rival home with a 21-14, 21-16 win.
Lee will now face a daunting task in the final when he takes on second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand, who needed three games to overcome Lakshya Sen of India 13-21, 21-17, 21-13 after 75 minutes.
Lee and Popov last faced off at the 2022 Swiss Open, in what was their first encounter, when the Frenchman won in straight games – but Lee said he learned a lot from that meeting.
“He [Lee] has stood still a bit since winning the Hong Kong Open and today’s result means a lot for him by reaching his first final for such a long time,” head coach Tim He Yiming said.
“He needs a breakthrough. He needs some performances like this to push himself forward and stay competitive on the world tour.”
Facing the same opponent who beat Hong Kong No 1 Angus Ng Ka-long in the second round, Lee was in total control despite difficult conditions, with a strong current affecting play.
“It’s not easy to control the shuttlecock under such conditions but Lee accomplished the job so well,” the coach said. “He dominated the net from the beginning and gave his rival little chance.”
Lee raced into a comfortable 10-3 lead in the second game but a lapse of concentration cost him dearly as Popov came back strongly before levelling the score at 14-14. But Lee adjusted and took six points in a row to seal the victory.
Lee last won a title in front of a home crowd at the 2019 Hong Kong Open, his second win on the world tour after his victory in the New Zealand Open in 2017.
Chasing a place at next year’s Paris Olympics after missing the Tokyo Games, Lee, now No 17 in the world, must finish in the top 16 when the qualification period ends next May.
In the women’s singles, top seed An Se-young of South Korea swept aside Carolina Marin of Spain in straight games, 21-16, 21-12, to set up a showdown against He Bingjiao of China.
The latter beat Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark 21-13, 21-18 in the other semi-final.
