Japan's Riichi Takeshita is on course for a second BWF New Zealand Open title as he reached the final by beating Vietnam's Tien Minh Nguyen ©New Zealand Open

Riichi Takeshita of Japan maintained his pursuit of a second Badminton World Federation (BWF) New Zealand Open by booking his place in the men’s singles final with victory over Vietnam's Tien Minh Nguyen at the North Shore Events Centre in Auckland today.

The unseeded Japanese, who last won the tournament in 2013, had accounted for third seed Lee Dong-keun of South Korea yesterday and proved too strong for Tien, emerging with a comfortable 21-15, 21-17 success.

China’s Huang Yuxiang, who stunned number one seed Son Wan-Ho of South Korea at the last eight stage, will take on Takeshita for the crown tomorrow in a tournament that is part of the BWF Grand Prix Gold after he came from behind to beat Malaysia’s Teck Zhi Soo 11-21, 22-20, 21-14.

In the women’s draw, South Korean top seed Sung Ji-hyun made light work of Chiang Mei Hui of Chinese Taipei, cruising to commanding 21-13, 21-8 win.

The other last four contest threw up another surprise as Japan’s unseeded Aha Ohori dumped Sung’s compatriot and third seed Bae Yeon Ju out of the competition by virtue of a 21-16, 21-17 triumph.

The two will clash for the BWF New Zealand Open crown tomorrow.

South Korean top seed Sung Ji-hyun made light work of Chiang Mei Hui of Chinese Taipei to reach the women's singles final
South Korean top seed Sung Ji-hyun made light work of Chiang Mei Hui of Chinese Taipei to reach the women's singles final ©Getty Images

There was also an upset in the mixed doubles competition as unseeded Chinese duo Zheng Siwei and Li Yinhui knocked out second seeds Shin Baek-cheol and Chae Yoo-jung from South Korea with a marathon 22-20, 15-21, 21-18 success.

The Chinese pair will face Malaysia’s Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying after they overcame top seeds Ko Sung-hyun and Kim Ha-na of South Korea 21-19, 10-21, 24-22.

The men’s doubles competition went according to the seeding as number two seeds Ko and Shin recorded a 21-16, 21-16 win against Indonesia’s Gideon Markus Fernaldi and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo to set up a meeting with another Indonesian duo, Angga Pratma and Ricky Kawanda Suwardi.

The third seeds reached the final as they proved too strong for China's Huang Kaixiang and Zheng, progressing thanks to a 21-19, 24-22 victory.

Chang Ye-na and partner Lee So-hee, the number two seeds from South Korea, sealed their place in the women’s doubles final by defeating team-mates Go Ah Ra and Yoo Hae-won 21-15, 17-21, 21-19 in a match that lasted one hour and 22 minutes.

Their opponents in tomorrow’s final will be Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota of Japan after they thrashed Australia’s Setyana Mapasa and Gronya Somerville 21-11, 21-7.