SINGAPORE – A year ago, Singapore’s Terry Hee and Jessica Tan notched their third win on the Badminton World Federation World Tour only after nine matches in four months.

In 2024, the mixed doubles pair have got off to a blistering start, recording their third victory in as many matches at the season-opening Malaysia Open on Jan 12, with their reward being a maiden Super 1000 semi-final.

Displaying grit and determination, Hee and Tan upset Thailand’s 2021 world champions Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai 21-16, 21-19 in the quarter-finals.

They will play South Korea’s seventh-ranked Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun for a spot in the Jan 14 final at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur.

The world No. 22 duo won their first game in 17 minutes against the sixth-ranked Thais.

But they were made to work in an enthralling second game that included an 85-shot rally, before prevailing in 31 minutes as they racked up vital ranking points in their bid to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

Hee, 28, admitted that they were lucky to have beaten the Thais for the first time after losing thrice, including a round-of-16 defeat in the 2023 Malaysia Open.

He said: “Very happy to win today, but we have to stay focused to prepare for the next round. Luck played a huge part in this match.

“Both sides fought extremely hard and it got very tiring in the end, it was hard to ‘kill’ one another off, so luck was a factor.”

On the 85-shot rally, Tan, who was flinging herself around the court to retrieve shots, said all they could think of was “breathe, breathe, breathe”.

“It feels amazing and also emotional to make our first-ever Super 1000 semi-final,” she added. “Our opponents were former world champions, so we’re very happy to have challenged them hard and come up on top today.”

Awaiting them in the Jan 13 semis are another strong pair in Kim and Jeong, who upset China’s Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong 21-11, 18-21, 21-17, ending the top-ranked duo’s hopes of winning the tournament for a fifth consecutive time.

The South Koreans had beaten Hee and Tan in their only previous meeting in the 2022 Korea Open’s round of 16.

National doubles head coach Paulus Firman, whose pre-match instruction to the Singaporean pair was simply “learn not to die”, said they will go into the semis as underdogs with nothing to lose.

“The semi-final opponents are higher ranked and they beat the first seeds in the quarter-final, we will play with nothing to lose and try to do our best,” said the Indonesian.

Meanwhile, Yeo Jia Min’s run in the women’s singles ended with a 16-21, 21-12, 21-19 quarter-final defeat by world No. 1 An Se-young.

Yeo, 24, said: “I feel that ultimately it was a shame to have lost... I made quite a lot of mistakes which I will reflect on.”

An still seemed hampered by a right knee injury that she picked up at the Asian Games last October. Her knee was heavily strapped up and her mobility appeared to be affected at times.

Adopting an aggressive approach, Yeo capitalised on An’s mistakes, clinching five consecutive points to lead 8-6 before sealing the first game 21-16.

However, the South Korean started the second game stronger, piling on the pressure to win 21-12 and force a decider.

Despite a valiant effort from Yeo, who fought back to close the gap from 19-11 to 20-19, it was not enough as An prevailed.

Standing in the 21-year-old’s path to the final is China’s 17th-ranked Zhang Yiman, who ousted world No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi 12-21, 21-17, 21-17.

National singles head coach Kelvin Ho said Yeo has done well, adding: “The wind condition in the hall was stronger than previous few days, she needed to be a bit more decisive and have a greater variation in her shot.

“Jia Min has played well this week and can take a lot of confidence from her performances.”

The other women’s semi-final pits Taiwanese world No. 4 Tai Tzu-ying against China’s second-ranked Chen Yufei.

In the men’s singles, world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark will meet China’s Shi Yuqi for a place in the final.

The other last-four clash pits Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun-yi against Dane Anders Antonsen.