TheStar ALOR STAR: Teenager Lim Kenn provided the biggest upset of the Kedah Open Badminton Championship men's singles when he ousted national shuttler Lee Tsuen Seng in the quarter-finals at the Sultan Abdul Halim Indoor Stadium last night. The 19-year-old needed 90 minutes to pull off a hard-fought 17-15, 2-15, 17-16 victory over his more experienced opponent. Lim Kenn's victory was more remarkable for the fact that he had never got past the second round of any senior level tournament prior to the Kedah Open. “I feel very happy as this is perhaps my best result to date. It was not an easy victory but I will cherish this moment as this is the first time that I had beaten Tsuen Seng,†said a jubilant Lim Kenn. His reward for ousting the seeded Tsuen Seng is a last four meeting against second seed Wong Choong Hann. “I cannot expect to repeat the feat against Choong Hann as he is a far better player. But I can promise that I will put on my best performance tomorrow night. “For someone who has not got past the second round before this, I have exceeded my own expectations here,†added Lim Kenn. Choong Hann, meanwhile, stared at elimination in his last eight encounter with Yeoh Kay Bin before pulling off a 7-15, 15-11, 15-13 win. Kay Bin only had himself to blame for not producing the second upset of the night when he let the second seed off the hook despite having several chances to finish off the tie during their 84-minute battle. In contrast, top seed Lee Chong Wei had no problems ending K. Yogendran's challenge 15-4, 15-6 in his quarter-final tie. Chong Wei will now take on Kuan Beng Hong, whom he has beaten comfortably in the past few meetings. “On paper, I am the favourite but I cannot take anything for granted. Beng Hong is a good player and can punish me if I make mistakes on the court,†said Chong Wei. In the women's singles, national champion Anita Raj Kaur set up a semi-final meeting with top seed Wong Mew Choo. Anita defeated backup squad player Ooi Swee Wenn 11-3, 11-9 in the quarter-finals yesterday. Mew Choo received a bye into the last four. The other semi-final clash involves Julia Wong and M. Sutheaswari. Julia did not have much difficulty in her 11-5, 11-1 victory over Kuala Lumpur's Stephanie Shalini. However, Sutheaswari had to fend off a spirited display from teenager Lydia Cheah, who played despite being in pain after being involved in a road accident just a day earlier. After Sutheaswari had taken the first set 11-2, Lydia staged a gallant fightback to win the second game 11-5. However, the five-minute break before the rubber set disrupted Lydia's momentum as well as concentration. She lost 5-11.
