Chou beats veteran Lee in quarter-finals

SINGAPORE : Singapore Open top seed Chou Tien Chen on Friday beat South Korea’s Lee Hyun Il 21-18, 21-6 to book himself a spot at the men’s singles semi-finals.

It was the first major test for the Taiwanese world No 7 but he downed 38-year-old Lee in just 31 minutes. He will face China’s Qiao Bin at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Satuday while compatriot Hsu Jen Hao will face Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Minh.

In the women’s singles, Thailand’s Nitchaon Jindapol withstood a spirited challenge from Taiwan’s Chen Su-yu 25-23, 21-16 to secure a spot in the semi-finals. Nitchaon will face Gao Fangjie who toppled Cai Yanyan 16-21, 21-16, 24-22.

Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir registered a 21-16, 21-15 victory over Hong Kong’s Reginald Lee and Chau Hoi-wah.

IOC TO STREAMLINE BIDS FOR GAMES

LAUSANNE,SWITZERLAND: The International Olympic Committee wants to further streamline the bidding procedure for Summer and Winter Games, ensuring only the most viable cities — ideally two — reach the final voting stage. IOC president Thomas Bach said weightlifting and boxing could still be dropped and that there was a long way still to for esports.

TOUR CHIEF CALLS FOR SERENITY, RESPECT

LEBOURG-D’OISANS,FRANCE:TOUR de France director Christian Prudhomme has demanded fans show more respect a day after Team Sky were booed off the podium and Vincenzo Nibali crashed out when his bike got tangled up.

He hinted there could be measures to stop fans running behind riders during the spectacular mountain stages that attract thousands to the roadside.

“They have only one wish, to be on television and take a selfie,” Prudhomme told AFP prior to the 13th stage from Bourg d’oisans to Valence.

“We have no wish to see that again. Rocket flares don’t belong on bike races. They make the riders breathe in noxious air, and they blind them. It just doesn’t make sense,” he added.