Unseeded Lee Cheuk-yiu faces Viktor Axelsen for place in Denmark Open final

Lee wins three-game battle over fourth seed Chou Tien-Chen of Taiwan to book his place in first Super 1,000 last four

World No 17 defeated Dane on way to 2019 Hong Kong Open win in only previous encounter with Tokyo 2020 gold medallist

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Lee Cheuk-yiu reaches his first Super 1,000 level tournament semi-final after defeating Chou Tien-Chen of Taiwan at the Denmark Open. Photo: Badminton Photo

Published: 10:30am, 23 Oct 2021Updated: 10:30am, 23 Oct 2021

Shuttler Lee Cheuk-yiu stormed into his first level 1,000 tournament semi-final after defeating Chou Tien-Chen of Taiwan and will meet Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen of the hosts.

In a gruelling 78-minute battle, the 2019 Hong Kong Open champion emerged the eventual winner over the fourth seed Chou following a 21-16, 19-21, 21-19 victory in the US$850,000 tournament.

“I feel so happy as this is my first time of reaching a Super 1000 tournament semi-final,” said unseeded Lee after the match.

“It was an exhausting tie as I also played my senior Ng Ka-long the previous round of three games over an hour. My body feels so tired now.”

Unseeded Lee makes all the all way through to the Denmark Open semi-finals. Photo: Badminton Photo

After one game apiece, Lee looked likely the winner as he was leading 18-13 in the rubber, but then the fourth seeded Taiwanese fought back fiercely, taking five points in a row to revitalise his chances.