Lin reaches US Smash semis, Chen stages thrilling comeback against Hayata

At the WTT US Smash in Las Vegas, China's World No. 1 Lin Shidong asserted his dominance with a 4-1 victory over Japan's No. 60 Yuta Tanaka in the men's singles quarter-finals.

This marked their second career encounter, and Lin wasted no time, breezing through the first three frames 11-4, 11-6, and an emphatic 11-2.

Tanaka mounted a spirited resistance in the fourth frame, leveling at 5-5 and even rallying to take it 11-9 after a tense back-and-forth. But Lin, true to his top billing, regained composure to clinch the decisive fifth frame 11-5, booking his place in the semi-finals where he will face the victor of the intriguing clash between Lin Yun-Ju and Harimoto Tomokazu.

On the women's side, China's Chen Yi, fresh from her stunning upset of World No. 1 Sun Yingsha, staged a spectacular comeback against Japan's Hina Hayata in a grueling 4-3 quarter-final thriller.

Hayata stormed ahead, taking the first three frames and pushing to a 7-3 lead in the fourth. But Chen rattled off eight consecutive points to seize the fourth frame 11-9. Riding this wave, she took the fifth 11-7 and dominated the sixth 11-2, forcing a nail-biting seventh frame which she clinched 11-9, advancing to the semis with poise and grit.

Meanwhile, in women's doubles, China's No. 2 seeds Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu dispatched South Korea's No. 3 seeds Kim Nayeong and Ryu Han-na in straight sets 11-7, 12-10, 11-5. Their reward: a final showdown against compatriots Wang Yidi and Kuai Man, promising an all-Chinese battle for the title.

The men's doubles semifinals, however, brought disappointment for China's Wang Chuqin and Liang Jingkun, who were swept 3-0 by the French brothers Felix and Alexis Lebrun.