Kunlavut storms into semis

Kunlavut Vitidsarn moved closer to winning back-to-back titles after securing a semi-final place at the US750,000 Singapore Open yesterday.

The world No.3, who won the Thailand Open last week, beat Christo Popov of France 21-13, 21-17 in the quarter-finals of the World Tour Super 750 event.

The 22-year-old from Chon Buri is seeking his third title of the year as he also won in India earlier this year.

In today’s semi-finals, the former three-time world junior champion will face second seed Anthony Ginting of Indonesia or Li Shifeng of China.

Denmark’s Anders Antonsen takes on third-seeded Kodai Naraoka of Japan in the other semi-final.

In the quarter-finals, Naraoka defeated China’s Shi Yuqi 21-14, 21-16 and Antonsen beat Lee Chia-hao of Taiwan 12-21, 21-13, 21-11.

In the women’s singles, top seed Akane Yamaguchi defeated her Japanese compatriot Aya Ohori 21-18,…