Korea Masters 2024: Kiran George Upsets Chi Yu Jen to Reach Quarterfinals

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India's Kiran George on Thursday (November 7) stunned third seed Chi Yu Jen of Chinese Taipei to reach the quarterfinals in the ongoing Korea Masters 2024 badminton tournament, which is taking place at the Iksan Gymnasium in Iksan, South Korea.

World number 44 George overcame the world number 31 from Chinese Taipei in three games 21-17, 19-21, 21-17 in the men's singles second round contest that lasted an hour and 15 minutes on court 1.

The 24-year-old George, who is the only Indian competing in the BWF Super 300 tournament, will next face fifth seed Takuma Obayashi of Japan in the last eight match on Friday (November 8).

George fought his way through to the quarterfinal, while his Japanese last eight opponent Obayashi claimed a straight games 22-20, 21-14 win in 39 minutes to progress into the next round.

George and Obayashi have crossed paths three times earlier in the ranking tournament. And it's the Indian, who has the clear advantage, having beaten the Japanese in all the three previous meetings.

Kiran George got the better of Obayashi earlier this year in the Malaysia Masters and Swiss Open with the Indian beating the Japanese shuttler in straight games by a scoreline of 21-16, 21-17 and 21-18, 21-19 respectively.

The only other meeting between the duo was a three game thriller in Indonesia Masters last year, when George fought back from a game down to beat Obayashi 18-21, 21-19, 21-19 in 2023.

Earlier, the lone Indian in Korea Masters, saw off Vietnam's Kuan Lin Kuo to reach the men's singles second round. George produced a gritty performance to eke out a three-game win by a scoreline of 15-21, 21-12, 21-15 in a 57-minute opening round clash.

Last week, Malvika Bansod defied all the odds to reach the final of the Hylo Open 2024, where the Indian finished runners up in the women's singles competition. George too will look to emulate his compatriot and go one better this week.