Taiwanese badminton ace Chou Tien-chen (???) reached the French Open men’s singles quarterfinals Thursday after defeating France’s Brice Leverdez 21-16, 17-21, 21-19.

The fourth-seeded Chou edged out world No. 37 Leverdez in a thrilling round of 16 matchup on Stade Pierre de Coubertin’s court no. 2 in Paris.

In a close contest that lasted for an hour and 20 minutes, Chou won the first game before handing the second to Leverdez.

Chou rallied in the rubber, which saw the score come to a tie six times, before the Taiwanese world No. 4 was able to score two consecutive points at 19-19 for the win.

It was the 31-year-old Chou’s fourth win out of 12 against the 35-year-old Leverdez.

Chou will meet world No. 17 Kenta Nishimoto of Japan in the quarterfinals Friday.

Chou, however, will not be joined in the last eight by compatriot Wang Tzu-wei (???), who fell to world No. 35 Heo Kwang-hee of South Korea in 37 minutes on court no. 3.

The world No. 10 was knocked out after a 10-21, 18-21 defeat, as Heo extended his head-to-head record over Wang to 3-2.

The 2021 French Open Super 750 badminton tournament, held Oct. 26-31, carries a total prize purse of US$600,000.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel