Nguye n Tie n Minh has booked a semifinal berth at the Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold 2011 after Indonesian rival Sony Dwi Kuncoro retired hurt during their quarter-final match on Friday.
The 29th-ranked Indonesian decided to stop while the 8th-ranked Vietnamese was leading 5-1 in the second set.
Earlier, Kuncoro had showed signs of being in pain while he was leading 17-11 in the first set that Minh eventually won 21-18.
The win was easier than expected because Minh had lost his only previous match against Kuncoro at the 2007 Indonesian Open.
Minh, the first and only Vietnamese to enter the top 100 world rankings so far, will take on 11th-ranked, seventh-seeded Chinese Bao Chunlai in the semifinals. He will have to do something special to beat Chunlai who has beaten him all the three times that they have met previously.
The YONEX-SUNRISE Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold 2011 in Alor Setar City began on May third and will end on May 8.
Source: VnExpress, Thanh Nien
