AUCKLAND, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Defending champion Lin Dan progressed to the semifinals of the New Zealand Open with a hard-fought win over tournament top seed Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in men's singles on Friday.
Lin recovered from a mid-way slump to overcome the Indonesian shuttler 25-23, 6-21, 21-12.
The two-time Olympic champion will next meet Hong Kong's Ng Ka Long, who defeated Lee Zii Jia from Malaysia 21-17, 11-21, 21-19.
Lin spent much of the opening hour in superb form, racing off to a 20-16 lead. Ginting saved the match point by capturing five successive points. After dropping two match points, Lin grabbed the first game 25-23.
In the second game, Lin lost to Ginting 6-21 because of fatigue. The decider started with Lin taking a lead of 8-2. Ginting was unable to catch up and suffered defeat in the final set.
In the women's singles competitions, former world No. 1 and Olympic gold medalist Li Xuerui advanced into the semifinals after beating Sayaka Takahashi of Japan 21-10, 21-18.
Despite good performances in the New Zealand Open, Lin and Li failed to make the Chinese Sudirman Cup team which was announced by the Chinese Badminton Association on Friday.
Young Chinese shuttlers Wang Zhiyi and Sun Feixiang failed to reach semifinals in women's and men's singles respectively.
