Hashim shocks Chen Hong to enter quarterfinals

Chen Hong of China was knocked out by Malaysian Mohammad Hafiz Hashim in the second round of the men's badminton singles on Friday.

World number four Chen Hong of China was knocked out by Malaysian Mohammad Hafiz Hashim in the second round of the Asian Games men's badminton singles here on Friday.

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All-England champion Chen struggled to control the game as 26th-ranked Hashim won 15-7, 11-15, 15-5 and entered the quarter-finals, where he plays Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat.

Hashim said he could have beaten Chen earlier in the match and should have won in straight games.

"But for some mistakes that I made, it would have been even easier for me," said Hashim. "He did gain control of the match midway through when he ensured a lot of net play and won the second game.

"I played into his hands in that game but bounced back strongly in the third."

Hashim's next opponent Hidayat, registered an easy 15-3, 15-2 win over Keita Masuda of Japan.

Last year's All-England champion Pullela Gopichand of India also cruised to the round of eight with a 17-15, 15-6 win over world number 12 Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand.

Gopichand showed his class in an attacking display to justify his participation here.

Top seed Xia Xuanze of China, world champion Hendrawan of Indonesia and Lee Hyun-Il of South Korea also won in straight games.

Xia's was the shortest match of the day as he took just 15 minutes to dispose of Sing Tes Fac of East Timore.

In the women's competition, Chinese shuttlers Zhou Mi and Gong Ruina, seeded first and second, cruised through to the semi-finals along with joint third seed Wang Chen of Hong Kong and Mee Fen of Malaysia.

Zhou Mi will now play Wang Chen while Gong Ruina will take on Mee Fen.

Meanwhile, there was an upset in the mixed doubles event when joint third seeds Tri Kusharjanto and Emma Ermawati of Indonesia lost 11-6, 6-11, 9-11 to the Chinese pair of Chen Qiqiu and Zhang Jie Wen.