Match: Iskandar Zulkarnain v Jan O Jorgensen
Date: 19 November, Saturday
Time: 3pm SGT/12:30pm IST/7am GMT
Venue: Haixia Olympic Sport Center, Fuzhou
Competition: China Open Superseries, semi-final
TV Coverage: In SIngapore there is no TV coverage of the match.
Live Streaming: BWF official YouTube channel, Hotstar.
Overview
Jan O Jorgensen takes on Iskandar Zulkarnain in the Men's singles semi-final of the 2016 China Open in Fuzhou on Saturday. In the absence of injured top-ranked shuttler Lee Chong Wei, his compatriot Zulkarnain is keeping the Malaysian campaign alive in the ongoing tournament.
The 25-year-old has reached his first Superseries semi-final and is looking good to go one step further after a commanding display in the quarter-final against higher-ranked local shuttler Qiao Bin.
Zulkarnain prevailed in a closely fought first game 21-19 after which he bulldozed Qiao with an array of smashes in the second game, which he sealed 21-7. It took only 43 minutes for the world number 33 to dispose off his Chinese opponent in the quarter-final.
"I really wanted to do well here. I would have met Lee Chong Wei in the second round, but his withdrawal gave me my big chance. I had to take this chance to improve my confidence," an elated Zulkarnain was quoted as saying by the BWF official website.
"I have lost in the first or second round of a few Superseries this year, so this tournament was important for me.
"My family came to the airport to see me off and to wish me luck. That gave me confidence."
Zulkarnain's semi-final opponent Jan O Jorgensen is under pressure to do well in the ongoing tournament after poor results in his last three Superseries outings.
After his first round exit at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the world number six reached the final of the Japan Open only to lose to Chong Wei after which he has faced a slump.
Jorgensen faced a second round exit in Korea and the Dane was humiliated in the first round by Shi Yuqi at home in the Denmark Open after which he suffered a defeat in the quarter-final of the French Open.
The Dane will be happy to face a lower-ranked opponent in the last-four stages. On the flipside, Zulkarnain would be gunning for revenge as Jorgensen knocked him out of Malaysia Open earlier this year.
TV Schedule
India: Star Sports 4
