Lee Cheuk-yiu reaches first badminton final in 4 years at Thailand Open
- The 26-year-old cruises to 21-14, 21-16 win over France’s Toma Popov in the Bangkok semi-finals on Saturday
- Lee last reached a world tour final in front of a home crowd when he lifted Hong Kong Open title in 2019
Hong Kong badminton star Lee Cheuk-yiu reached his first final on the world tour in four years after cruising to a 2-0 win over Toma Popov of France at the Thailand Open on Saturday.
At Bangkok’s Indoor Stadium Huamark, the 26-year-old needed only 35 minutes to send his French rival home with a 21-14, 21-16 win.
Lee will now face a daunting task in the final when he takes on second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand, who needed three games to overcome Lakshya Sen of India 13-21, 21-17, 21-13 after 75 minutes.
Lee and Popov last faced off at the 2022 Swiss Open, in what was their first encounter, when the Frenchman won in straight games – but Lee said he learned a lot from that meeting.
“He [Lee] has stood still a bit since winning the Hong Kong Open and today’s result means a lot for him by reaching his first final for such a long time,” head coach Tim He Yiming said.
“He needs a breakthrough. He needs some performances like this to push himself forward and stay competitive on the world tour.”
