Chong Wei slays Christensen to land fourth Indonesia Open title

Posted by Lucas Liau Top News 5:26 PM

PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei made it all look so easy when he captured the Indonesia Open in super style to cap a perfect half-year mark of an amazing run this season.
Yesterday, the cool and confident Chong Wei demolished Peter-Gade Christensen of Denmark with a 21-11, 21-7 win in just 31 minutes of the men’s singles final to nail the Indonesia Open for the fourth time and a third one in a row.
Ironically, it was Chong Wei’s easiest win out of his four finals in Indonesia but it had earned him the biggest catch – a whopping US$45,000.

And with the victory yesterday, Chong Wei has collected a total of six titles to prove that he is the most consistent player in the first half of the year. His other titles this year are the Super Series Masters Finals, Malaysia Open, All-England, India Open and the Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold.
With the rare and fantastic run so far, Chong Wei has certainly put himself in a comfortable position going into the next major tournament – the World Championships – which will be held in London from Aug 8-14. No Malaysian has won at the world meet so far.
Yesterday, Chong Wei was thrilled to bits with his one-sided victory over his old rival Christensen.
“I have played Peter so many times and I know his game by heart. He is a good player but today, I had good control of the match and managed to pull off one of my easiest match against him,” said Chong Wei.
“I did expect him to stage a fight back in the second game like he used to because Peter is always a fighter but I guess after trailing 4-16 he just gave up.”
Yesterday, Chong Wei, who had only lost once in 13 previous meetings against Christensen, was a cut above in all departments - especially with his precision at the net and the ability to change the pace of the game at will.
He even fooled the Dane with some of his tricky moves from the baseline, which often left Christensen frustrated throughout the opening game. To Chong Wei’s surprise, his opponent, who always fights back, showed no life and fire in the second game and it made it easier for Chong Wei to romp home quickly at 21-7.
“I have won six titles in six months and that feels good. And all I want to do is to keep up with the good run. This will put me in a good spirit before the World Championships. I will continue to stay focused in my mission to win the country’s first world title,” he said. But before the World Championships, Chong Wei will take part in one more tournament – the Kedah Open from July 13-16 in Alor Setar – although earlier he had hoped to skip the event to give 100% concentration on the world meet.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) have made it compulsory for all the national players to participate in the domestic tournament and Chong Wei will abide.
“I did meet up with the BAM but they were unable to change the dates. I still want to qualify for the National GP Finals and maintain my unbeaten run in the local scene and I have decided to go.”
National coach Teh Seu Bock was pleased with Chong Wei’s show of maturity and his excellent run this year.
“Chong Wei did well to approach the game differently today. He had more variety in his attacks and also managed to pull off his deceptive shots successfully. But I am still quite surprised with Chong Wei’s easy win over Peter today,” said Seu Bock.
“Usually, Peter is the type who will never give up but I saw him pulling back in the second game.
“I have seen both these players so many times and this time, it was indeed the least challenging for Chong Wei.”
“It has been a great six months for Chong Wei. He is more mature and more consistent.
“We will resume our work for the world meet and continue to help him to become more consistent.
“Chong Wei will compete in the Kedah Open and it will serve as part of his training. He will train in the morning and take part in the competition in the evening,” added Seu Bock.