Taiwan Pair Upset World No. 1 Koreans at WTT Europe Smash

Malmö: Taiwan's Lin Yun-ju and Cheng I-ching upset the world's top-ranked mixed doubles pair Thursday to reach the semifinals of the WTT Europe Smash in Malmö, Sweden. The Taiwanese duo, ranked 11th in the world, defeated South Korea's Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin 11-3, 11-2, 4-11, 11-9 in the quarterfinals at Malmö Arena. According to Focus Taiwan, the victory was Lin and Cheng's first over the Korean pair after losing their previous two meetings. Lin and Cheng dominated the opening two games, racing to leads of 7-0 and 8-0 before winning them 11-3 and 11-2. Lim and Shin responded in the third, jumping out to a 6-0 lead and going on to take the game 11-4. The Taiwanese pair again fell behind in the fourth, but Lin's forehand attacks helped spark a six-point run that put them back in front. Lim and Shin saved four match points late in the game before Lin and Cheng closed it out 11-9 to seal the upset. The win secured Lin and Cheng a place in the final four, equaling their best mixed doubles result at a WT T Grand Smash event. They are scheduled to face world No. 5 and third-seeded Chinese pair Lin Shidong and Kuai Man at noon Friday local time for a place in the final.