Badminton: World champ Marin into Hong Kong semis, Chen to play Lee

World champion Carolina Marin of Spain cheers during her match against Venkata Sindhu. PHOTO: EPA

HONG KONG (AFP) - World champion Carolina Marin brushed off Thailand's Porntip Buranaprasertsuk to book her place in Hong Kong Open semi-finals on Friday.

The Spanish badminton player had her sights firmly set on her sixth big title of the year, as she dismissed Porntip 21-12, 21-13 in 42 minutes.

Marin has had a strong year, winning the world title in August and shooting up the rankings to No. 1 after starting the year ranked eighth.

"I am very happy with my performance because last week I lost against Wang Shixian (in Fuzhou), it wasn't a good game for me," said Marin, referring to the Chinese world No. 6.

"But I changed my (mindset) because I want to get the title here."

In the men's competition, former world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei will meet rival and top seed Chen Long of China later on Friday in the quarter-finals.

The meet is being billed as a grudge match after Lee beat Chen in Sunday's China Open final.

The Malaysian is on a winning streak after taking back-to-back titles in China and France as he made a strong return following an eight-month doping ban earlier this year.

Overnight hometown hero Angus Ng, who downed Chinese legend Lin Dan in the second round, will meet Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei later on Friday as well.

The Hong Konger lost to Chou in the quarter-finals of the French Open last month - the first time he had reached the last eight at a Super Series tournament.

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