Chong Wei in final but Koo-Tan and Chan-Goh falter in semis
Latest News 11:43 PM
PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei powered his way into the final of the India Open yesterday but it was all over for Malaysia in the doubles events.
Chong Wei looks unstoppable in his mission to win his first India Open title when he took just 27 minutes to tame Hong Kong’s Hu Yun 21-11, 21-15.
The top seed will take on the resurgent Peter-Gade Christensen in the final today bent on erasing all the painful memories he has experienced in India.
He was down with food poisoning when he lost to Chen Long of China in the 2009 India Open and, in the same year, he went down to Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia in the quarter-finals of the World Championships in Hyderabad.
The Dane, who is coming out of an injury, has a poor record against the Malaysian, having won only once in their 12 meetings.
Yesterday, Christensen showed that he was equally determined to nick his first Open title this year when he fended of Park Sung-hwan of South Korea with a 21-15, 21-19 win.
National coach Teh Seu Bock said: “Peter is looking sharp and is in better condition. On paper, Chong Wei is the favourite but I do not want him to take it easy.”
In their last meeting at the Super Series Masters Finals in Taiwan in January, the Malaysian showed no mercy in his straight game win over the Dane.
There was heartbreak for Malaysia in the men’s doubles event with the shock 16-21, 19-21 defeat of top seeds Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong to Japan’s Hirokatsu Hashimoto-Noriyasu Hirata.
It was their second defeat to the Japanese, who also beat them at the Indonesia Open last year.
With their premature exit, Kien Keat-Boon Heong’s agonising wait for a Super Series title continues. The duo have been drawing blank since their Malaysia Open win last year.
Today, the Japanese wil take on surprise finalists Angga Pratama-Ryan Agung Saoutra of Indonesia for their first major title.
The gallant run of top mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying also ended yesterday when they lost 12-21, 16-21 to Indonesia’a Fran Kurniawan-Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth.
It was the Malaysians’ fourth defeat to the Indonesians and it prevented them from reaching their first-ever final in a Super Series event.
Japan achieved a rare high yesterday. They were assured of the women’s doubles title when Miyuki Maeda-Satoko Suetsuna set up a meeting against Mizuki Fujii-Reika Kakiiwa.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 11:43 PM.
Filed under
Latest News
.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0
