The world’s number 7 Nguyen Tien Minh had to halt his cruise at the Indonesia Open Superseries Premier 2011 after he was knocked down 10-21 14-21 at the quarterfinals by Lee Chong Wei on Friday.
Nguyen Tien Minh
This marked the eighth loss of the Vietnamese player to the world number 1 Malaysian in nine recent encounters.
The Malaysian, who skipped last week’s Li Ning Singapore Open Superseries, is the defending champion at the tournament in Indonesia, which offers US$600,000 in prize money.
He beat local favorite Taufik Hidayat, a six-time winner of this event, in last year’s final.
Chong Wei may have to beat three Chinese players – 2008 world junior champion Wang Zhengming, Chen Long and arch nemesis, Lin Dan – if he is to retain his title.