Defending champion Shi upset, top seeds Zheng and Chen tested at BWF French Open

PARIS, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Defending champion Shi Yuqi was upset by Srikanth Kidambi in full games in men's singles quarter-finals at BWF World Superseries French Open here on Friday, while mixed doubles top seeds Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen withstood challenges to make into the semi-finals.

Shi and Kidambi, who won at Denmark Open last weekend, were rare stars following shocking exits of several top seeds.

Shi was on the right track as he won the first game 21-8. However, Kidambi kicked off a huge comeback since the second game, and turned around the table 21-19, 21-9.

No Chinese player was seen in men's singles semi-finals following Shi's departure.

Danish young shuttler Anders Antonsen, who upset China's Huang Yuxiang and Chen Long in previous two rounds, put on another surprising display as he shocked world No. 9 Ng Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong, China. With a semi-finals berth in hand, Antonsen has tied his personal best in BWF Superseries.

After finishing the opening game against Ben Lane and Jessica Pugh 21-18, Zheng and Chen found themselves at 4-0 down, further suffering an eight-point deficit midway through the second game. The Chinese duo got back at 18-15, but their opponents managed to seal a 21-19 win with a lucky drop shot.

"Actually it was a surprise for us when we came back into the match, because we have already made preparation for missing out the second game," admitted Zheng.

Zheng and Chen once again lost their momentum at the start of decider with 3-0 down, before they managed to trade advantages several times with opponents. The Chinese pair finally secured the victory of 21-16.

"They did well in restraining my offense, and made us feel quite uncomfortable throughout the match," commented Zheng, adding that they needed to focus on every match en route to the title.

In an all-China quarter-finals, Zhang Nan and Li Yinhui upset No. 2 seeds Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong in full games to next face Olympic champions Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir.

Top names prevailed in women's singles as second-seeded Sindhu Pusarla of India saw off China's Chen Yufei 21-14 in both games.

Titleholder He Bingjiao eliminated South Korea's Lee Jang Mi, setting up a semi-final clash with world No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei.

Following her victory over Sung Ji Hyun of South Korea after 79 minutes, Japan's Yamaguchi Akane was set to meet Pusarla.

Current women's doubles world No. 1 Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan beat South Korean duo of Chang Ye Na and Jung Kyung Eun in full games.

Elsewhere, men's doubles No. 5 seeds Liu Cheng and Zhang Nan beat Japan's Hoki Takuro and Kobayashi Yugo in straight games, joined by teammates He Jiting and Tanqiang in Saturday's semi-finals.

The French Open, the 10th leg of 12 BWF World Superseries of the season, is underway until Sunday, with a total prize money of 325,000 U.S. dollars up for grabs.