Men's singles top seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei survived a tough opening game to beat South Korea's Lee Hyun-il ©Getty Images

Men's singles top seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei survived a tough opening game to beat South Korea's Lee Hyun-il to reach the semi-finals of the Badminton World Federation Singapore Open.

Chou remains on course to justify his billing as he reached the last four with a 21-18, 21-6 victory at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Unseeded Chinese player Qiao Bin is all that stands in the way of Chou booking a place in the final.

Qiao joined Chou in the next round by defeating Malaysia’s Chong Wei Feng 21-14, 21-18.

The other semi-final will be between Nguyen Tien Minh of Vietnam and Chinese Taipei's Hsu Jen Hao of Chinese Taipei after both players came through their respective matches today.

Nitchaon Jindapol, the highest-seeded player in the women's draw, progressed to the semi-finals ©Getty Images
Nitchaon Jindapol, the highest-seeded player in the women's draw, progressed to the semi-finals ©Getty Images

Minh proved too strong for Ihsan Maulana Mustofa as the 35-year-old rolled back the years with a vintage display in a 21-15 21-15 triumph.

Hsu was made to work harder for his semi-final berth as he ousted China’s Huang Yuxiang 21-15, 6-21, 21-16.

"I played very well," said Minh.

"I haven’t played in Singapore for a long time but, whenever I do, I play quite well."

In the women's singles draw, second seed Nitchaon Jindapol - the highest seed after compatriot and defending champion Ratchanok Intanon withdrew before the tournament - beat Chen Su Yu of Chinese Taipei 25-23, 21-16.

Jindapol will face China's Gao Fangjie, a 16-21, 21-16, 24-22 winner over team-mate Cai Yanyan, tomorrow.