Vietnamese shuttler Nguyen Tien Minh blew away China's Lu Yi 21-16, 21-14 to challenge world No. 1 Lin Dan in the men's singles semifinals at 2007 International Badminton Tourney in Beijing on Friday. The fourth-seeded Nguyen successfully contained Lu's smashes and net drop shots in the first set. He even enjoyed a margin of eight points at 15-7.

 

Lu tried to reverse the situation and cut the deficit to three points (12-15) but still lost 21-14 in the 29-minute match.

 

As the only non-Chinese in the men's singles semifinals, Nguyen Tien Minh will take on world No. 1 Lin Dan on Saturday, who defeated his teammate Qiu Yanbo 21-14, 21-11 in quarterfinals.

 

"I am really looking forward to playing with Lin Dan tomorrow. I will adjust myself to top level," said Nguyen after the match, adding that he felt pity to lose to Lin Dan in 2003.

 

Meanwhile, second-seeded Bao Chunlai continued his victory by beating Xie Xin 21-8, 21-17. He will encounter Li Yu in the semifinals, who claimed a closely-fought three-set win (21-18, 18-21, 21-14) over Wang Sijie in quarterfinals.

 

The men's singles final will take place on October 14 at Beijing University of Technology (BUT) Gymnasium, the badminton venue for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

 

(Xinhua News Agency October 12, 2007)