KUALA LUMPUR: Independent shuttler Chong Wei Feng, today (Friday) did well to reach the semi-finals of the China Masters, improving his chances of making the cut for the national squad bound for the Thomas Cup in Bangkok, Thailand, next month.
In the quarter-finals at the Agile Stadium in the Lingshui Culture and Sports Square, Wei Feng, 31, saw off China's Zhou Zeqi 21-18, 21-11 in just 40 minutes.
The former BA of Malaysia (BAM) shuttler, will take on China's Sun Feixian next, for a place in Sunday's final.
The last time Wei Feng got this far in an international tournament, was back in 2016 at the Vietnam Open, where he reached the final, before going down to Hong Kong's Vincent Wong.
When contacted, Wei Feng said: "I am not too sure about the Thomas Cup. However, I am happy to have made it this far, because it has been a very long time since I've made it to the semi-finals."
Meanwhile, it was the end of the road for two more Malaysia shuttlers, BAM's Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin and another independent player, Liew Daren.
Iskandar, who will most likely be Malaysia's third singles at the Thomas Cup, went down fighting 21-14, 17-21, 21-14 to Taiwans' Lin Yu Hsien, while second seed, Daren, went down tamely 21-18, 21-5 to local shuttler Lu Guangzu.
While BAM have yet to finalise their squad for the Thomas Cup, it is learnt that former world No 1 Lee Chong Wei, Lee Zii Jia and Iskandar are almost certain to take up the first three singles slots.