HONG KONG: Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon defeated Michelle Li of Canada on Friday to move on to the semi-finals of the US$400,000 BWF Hong Kong Open badminton tournament.
Ratchanok, who also advanced to the semi-finals of the China Open last week, needed just 39 minutes to secure her 21-14, 21-16 quarter-final victory at the Hong Kong Coliseum.
Her semi-final oponent was being decided on Friday evening. Akane Yamaguchi of Japan was drawn against Pusarla Sindhu of India, and Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan faced Chen Yufei of China in the other quarter-finals.
Ratchanok defeated world No.1 Tai in the quarter-finals of the China Open last week before losing to world No.2 Yamaguchi in the semi-final.
The 2013 world champion, Ratchanok has made a solid return to form this year, with victories in three Grand Prix Gold tournaments in Thailand, New Zealand and Denmark. As a result, she has improved her world ranking from ninth to sixth.