Chong Wei crushes Sasaki for final date with Chunlai
Top News 9:15 AM
World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei continued his hot streak when he crushed Japan’s Sho Sasaki to reach the men’s singles final of the Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold at the Sultan Abdul Halim Stadium here yesterday.
The top seed did not show any signs of fatigue and mustered enough strength to chalk up a classy 21-13, 21-14 win over Sasaki in 37 minutes to enter his sixth final of the year.
Today, Chong Wei will take on China’s Bao Chunlai and if he maintains his momentum, a fifth title is his for the taking.
Steady throughout: Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei returning a shot to Japan’s Sho Sasaki during their Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold men’s singles semi-final match yesterday. Chong Wei won 21-13, 21-14. — CHIN CHENG YEANG / The Star
Except for a defeat in the final of the South Korea Open in January, Chong Wei showed consistency to win four other titles - the Super Series Masters Final, Malaysia Open, All-England and India Open.
Despite the excellent run, Chong Wei said he was still fired up for more victories.
“Today, I was totally focused. I kept it simple but did not allow Sho to play his game,” said Chong Wei.
“The Japanese used the right tactics against Chen Jin (of China in the quarter-finals) but this time, I stayed ahead of him every step of the way.
“I have won the Malaysia GP Gold for the last two years and I’m still hungry to win a third.”
A dejected Sasaki sat in a corner with his head hung low and later said his easy defeat to the world No. 1 was hard to take.
“There was a big gap in standard between us today. Chong Wei’s precision shots were always out of my reach. I grew frustrated with every point.
“The only way to beat him in the future is to add speed into my game so that I can be fast enough to counter all his attacks. I will be more prepared the next time around.”
While Sasaki left in disappointment, Chong Wei is ready to go for another kill and said on his match-up against Chunlai today: “This GP Gold is important to me as it will boost my confidence further. I will go all out. I’m not too worried about my opponent...it all depends on how focused I am tomorrow.”
Yesterday, Chunlai had to slog for 58 minutes to beat Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Minh for a 21-12, 19-21, 21-14 win.
“Today, Chong Wei will be the favourite. He is ranked higher than me. My last defeat to him was at the All-England. I did not play too well then. This time, I’m feeling more confident. I will go all out to beat him this time.”
Chunlai has lost 11 out of their 15 meetings and the odds are stacked against the lanky player to improve his record.
Meanwhile, in the women’s singles, Saina Nehwal of India lived up to her top billing when she defeated Sung Ji-hyun 21-14, 21-13 to set up a meeting with China’s Wang Xin.
Semi-final results
Men’s singles: Lee Chong Wei (Mas) bt Sho Sasaki (Jpn) 21-13, 21-14; Bao Chunlai (Chn) bt Nguyen Tien Minh (Vie) 21-12, 19-21, 21-14.
Men’s doubles: Alven Yulianto-Hendra Gunawan (Ina) bt Cho Gun-woo-Kwon Yi-goo (Kor) 21-16, 19-21, 21-18; Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong (Mas) bt Ruud Bosch-Koen Ridder (Hol) 21-17, 18-21, 21-10.
Women’s singles: Wang Xin (Chn) bt Bae Youn-joo (Kor) 21-6, 21-19; Saina Nehwal (Ind) bt Sung Ji-hyun (Kor) 21-14, 21-13.
Women’s doubles: Shizuka Matsuo-Mami Naito (Jpn) bt Luo Ying-Luo Yu (Chn) 21-10, 21-19; Miyuki Maeda-Satoko Suetsuna (Jpn) bt Meiliana Jauhari-Greysia Polii (Ina) 21-19, 21-16.0
Mixed doubles: Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying (Mas) bt Fran Kurniawan-Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth (Ina) 21-14, 21-10; Tantowi Ahmad-Lilyana Natsir (Ina) bt A. Songphon-V. Kunchala (Tha) 21-13, 14-21, 21-12.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 9:15 AM.
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