The day's action on 7 March was intense, with some surprising results. Here is a detailed summary of the quarter-finals, which took place on courts 1 and 2 of the Palais des Sports in Orléans.
Men's singles: tight duels
A number of matches caught the eye in this category.
- Ayush Shetty won a marathon match against Rasmus Gemke in three hard-fought sets (16-21, 23-21, 21-17). The Indian turned things around after a difficult first set to win a match that lasted over an hour.
- Alex Lanier, seeded No. 4, defeated Kenta Nishimoto in three tight sets (21-17, 13-21, 21-14). The Frenchman dominated the third set to book his place in the semi-finals.
- Chia Hao Lee came from behind to beat Chun-Yi Lin in three sets (21-18, 20-22, 21-12).
Also of note was Nhat Nguyen's victory over number 1 seed Zii Jia Lee in an intense match (21-23, 21-7, 21-17).
Women's singles: convincing victories
In the women's category, the seeded players held their own.
- Se Young An, seeded number 1, beat Tomoka Miyazaki in two quick sets (21-6, 21-9), displaying great mastery.
- Yu Fei Chen, seeded 8th, put in a fine performance to beat Zhi Yi Wang (21-10, 21-11).
- Fang Jie Gao had to battle hard to overcome Riko Gunji in a hard-fought match (13-21, 21-19, 21-17).
- Finally, Beiwen Zhang eliminated her friend Kristy Gilmour after a tight match (20-22, 21-12, 21-17), showing great resilience after losing the first set.
Men's double: some surprises
In the men's doubles draw, some pairs shone with their efficiency.
- Won Ho Kim and Seung Jae Seo crushed Zhi Ray Chen and Yu Chieh Lin (21-10, 21-7) in just 24 minutes.
- Min Hyuk Kang and Dong Ju Ki had a tougher time of it but eventually beat Wen Jun Sun and Yi Jun Zhu in two tight sets (21-16, 21-16).
- Wei Keng Liang and Chang Wang, seeded number 1, were pushed to the limit before beating Bo Yang Chen and Yi Liu (21-16, 26-24).
- On the other hand, Junaidi Arif and Roy King Yap sprang a surprise by beating Jhe-Huei Lee and Po-Hsuan Yang (19-21, 21-18, 21-12)...
Women's doubles: matches dominated by the favourites
In the women's pairings, the top seeds held their own overall.
- Yi Fan Jia and Shu Xian Zhang, seeded 7th, beat Pearly Tan and Muralitharan Thinaah in three sets (21-15, 21-19).
- Hye Jeong Kim and Hee Yong Kong beat Pei Kee Go and Mei Xing Teoh (21-13, 21-11).
- Ha Na Baek and So Hee Lee, seeded number 1, won against the pair Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti in two sets (21-18, 21-10).
- Finally, Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto got the better of Nga Ting Yeung and Pui Lam Yeung (13-21, 21-13, 21-13), confirming their status as favourites.
Mixed doubles: Tight matches and a forfeit
The mixed doubles draw also provided its share of surprises.
- Rehan Naufal and Gloria Emanuelle benefited from a forfeit against Pang Ron Hoo and Su Yin Cheng, giving them direct access to the semi-finals.
- Jesper Toft and Amalie Magelund managed to overcome Po-Hsuan Yang and Ling Fang Hu (21-13, 21-17).
- Ruttanapak Oupthong and Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat beat Adnan Maulana and Indah Cahya Sari Jamil in two sets (21-11, 21-12).
Conclusion: promising semi-finals
This day's quarter-finals was full of twists and turns, with some expected victories but also a few surprises. On the whole, the seeded players showed up, but some had to fight hard to qualify. The semi-finals promise to be explosive, with highly anticipated clashes in every draw.
See you tomorrow for another exciting day of competition!!
