Just five tournaments into their partnership, Jimmy Wong and Cheng Su Yin knocked out in-form pair Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Boje on their way to a first semifinal.

It was Christiansen and Boje’s earliest defeat since the All England in March, after which they had embarked on a brilliant run which saw them win four titles from five finals.

Wong and Cheng, whose partnership started at the Malaysia Masters where they ran into the Danes, turned it around today with a calm performance, disallowing the Danes any substantial opening.

After a late surge in the opening game, the world No.118 duo shot ahead early in the second and kept their lead, closing out the match 21-17 21-17 to ensure their debut appearance in an HSBC BWF World Tour Super 750 semifinal.

“We’re very happy and satisfied with our performance,” said Wong. “We are the underdogs, so we had to be patient, not rush, and believe in ourselves. We could do what we wanted to do. They are more experienced, and tactically they are better than us, but we won because we were more patient.

“Honestly, we were a bit nervous because it’s our first time at this stage. We just reminded ourselves to be patient. If we played too tactically and rushed them, we could not challenge them. We played them once and we rushed, and we couldn’t challenge them. So we just had to be patient.”

Wardani Steamrolls Wang

Wang Zhi Yi suffered one of her most comprehensive losses in recent times, crashing out to Putri Kusuma Wardani 9-21 21-17 21-4 for the first time in eight matches. The third game was a total rout, with Wang moving on leaden feet, while Wardani, to her credit, took care to play the patient game and pick her winners.

“Honestly, I had no expectations at all, as I had never beaten her in seven previous matches. I played with nothing to lose. My coach asked me to enjoy the game, and not think too much.

“She plays a steady game, so I thought if I can just keep returning the shuttle, I’d have a chance. Of course this gives me a lot of confidence for tomorrow.”

→Results (Quarterfinals)