Lin Dan, Cheng Long suffer shock defeats at Japan Open

Tokyo: It is not only the Indians who failed to make a mark at the Japan Open, Chinese shuttlers also found the going tough here as star players, Lin Dan and Chen Long, crashed out of the USD 250,000 Super Series tournament here on Friday.

After India ended their campaign yesterday, Olympic and World Champion Lin Dan and world number two Chen Long failed to cross the quarterfinal hurdle, falling to European champion Jan O. Jorgensen from Denmark and Hong Kong`s Hu Yun at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium here. Five-time World champion, Lin, who recently played at the Thomas Cup tournament in New Delhi, suffered a 19-21 21-13 16-21 loss to world number three Jorgensen in a men`s singles match lasting one hour and four minutes. Last year`s All England Champion, Chen, who held an unbeaten 5-0 record against his rival before the match, squandered a first game advantage to go down 21-18, 19-21, 15-21 to the eighth seeded Hu Yun in another gruelling match. World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia survived a scare before prevailing over Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia 21-15, 12-21, 21-17. Local hero Kenichi Tago edged out Denmark`s Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 21-16, 16-21, 21-13 to complete the semifinal line-up. Lee will cross swords with Tago, while Jorgensen will be up against Hu in the semifinals tomorrow. In the women`s singles quarter-finals, Olympic champion and top seed Li Xuerui of China brushed aside Carolina Marin of Spain 21-14, 21-12 to set up a clash with South Korea`s Sung Ji-Hyun, who pipped Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand 13-21, 22-20, 21-11. Chinese Taipei`s Tai Tzu-ying booked a semifinal berth following Japan`s Sayaka Takahashi injury in the first game. In another quarterfinal clash, China`s Liu Xin subdued Hong Kong player Yip Pui-yin 19-21, 21-13, 21-14.