Super Dan leads home sweep of last four at China Open

BEIJING, Oct 20 (Reuters) World champion Lin Dan remained on course for a fourth successive China Open title when he reached the semi-finals of the six star tournament with a 21-18 21-17 victory over Hong Kong's Chan Yan Kit today.

The 23-year-old world number one will next face his opponent in the final at the world championships in Madrid last month, Bao Chun Lai, who was a 21-13 22-20 winner over Chen Yu in his men's singles quarter-final at the 250,000 dollar event in Guangzhou.

Chinese number two Chen Jin held off former world champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia 21-13 12-21 21-18 to set up a semi-final against Chen Hong, who ensured a home sweep of the last four with a 21-17 21-15 victory over Briton Andrew Smith.

''I am so happy that I beat Taufik,'' Chen told the Xinhua news agency. ''I will be more confident in my next matches.'' Defending champion and world number one Zhang Ning led the local charge into the semi-finals of the women's singles, thrashing Malaysia's Mew Choo Wong 21-17 21-7.

The 31-year-old Olympic gold medalist, who lost to compatriot Xie Xingfang in the Madrid final before winning the Japan Open last week, will face Hong Kong's Wang Chen on Saturday for a place in Sunday's final.

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