KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 18 — National mixed doubles Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei advanced to the semi-finals of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Championship after defeating Indonesian pair Jafar Hidayatullah-Felisha Pasaribu in the second Group B match today.

The world champions started shakily in the first set after losing 17-21, but recovered in the next two sets to win 21-14, 21-15.

This was the second win for the national pair after defeating compatriots Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie yesterday.

Chen-Toh will meet Feng Yang Zhe-Huang Dong Ping in the final Group A match tomorrow.

Also recording a win today was the national women's doubles pair Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah who managed to secure their second win after defeating the Japanese pair, Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi in the second match of Group A.

Tan-Thinaah who had no problem winning straight sets 21-13, 21-18 in 52 minutes booked their semi-finals slot.

The national pair who are still fresh from winning the gold medal at the recent Thailand Sea Games will meet Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto to complete the Group A action tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Goh-Lai suffered a different fate as they lost for the second time in a row at the tournament when they conceded defeat to Yang Zhe-Dong Ping, thus making it difficult for them to advance to the semi-finals.

The husband-and-wife pair started well in the first set when they won 25-23 before failing to continue their excellent run in the next two sets and conceded defeat 11-21, 20-22 in an action that lasted one hour and nine minutes. — Bernama