HONG KONG: World number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia on Friday booked his place in the men’s singles semi-finals after beating Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Minh at the Yonex-Sunrise Hong Kong Open.

Lee powered his way through to a 21-19, 21-19 victory over Nguyen in the 34-minute encounter, advancing in the $350,000 Badminton World Federation Super Series tournament. He will face Japan’s Kenichi Tago in the next round. The 30-year-old Malaysian saw his first tournament victory at the Japan Open in September after a heartbreaking loss to China’s Lin Dan in the same category at the London 2012 Olympics.

The 29-year-old Lin, who won his second Olympic title in London, and has said is eyeing an Olympic hat-trick in 2016, is not competing in the Hong Kong Open.