Semifinal Report
Chong Wei faces Jorgensen, Wang Yihan knocks out Carolina
JAKARTA: Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei remained on course for a sixth Indonesia Open title after defeating local youngster Ihsan Maulana in an action-packed semifinal battle today.
The world No 2 took 39 minutes to put the brakes on the pumped up Ihsan here today. Chong Wei, the second seed here, won 21-9, 21-18 to set a final showdown with Dane Jan O Jorgensen. The Thomas Cup winning team shuttler defeated China's Tian Houwei in the other semifinal game.
Chong Wei goes into the final with a 15-1 head-to-head lead over Jorgensen. "It's the first time I'm playing Ihsan, he is one of the up and coming young players. He put up a good fight. He is among the few young Indonesian players with the potential to go far," said Chong Wei. "In the second set, it was point to point and maybe that gave him some confidence."
He commented that it did not matter who his opponent in the final would be. "I'm dining for a sixth Indonesian title, so it does not matter won I play tomorrow. It's not going to be ready as both are good players."
Chong Wei had a quick run in the fist set but Ihsan began to fight back in the second giving the home fans hopes of a major upset. Chong Wei led 5-3 but Ihsan clawed his way into contention and took the lead at 8-7. It was a point for point thriller which had the fans on the edge of their seats.
The duo were tied at 17-17 and that's when Chong Wei stepped up the pace as he headed for the finish.
In the men's doubles, topseeds, Lee Yong Dae and Yoo Yeon Seong, were simply to strong today. The Koreans were hardly troubled, and with the crowd behind them, it proved to be a walk in the park for them.
The world best pair defeated Denmark's Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 21-16, 21-14 in 47 minutes.
Yong Dae, who has a massive female following here, thanked the fans for their support. "We always have good support and enjoy playing here. Our opponents started well but we managed to contain them. It was better in the second set."
China's mixed doubles topseeds however did not have it as good as the Koreans. Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei could not seen to get their game together and paid the ultimate price.
They dropped the first set and despite their best efforts, failed to recover and lost to third seeds Ko Sung Hyun-Hyun-Kim Ha Na 21-14, 21-17 in 40 minutes.
In the women's singles, China's Wang Yihan, the fourth seed, took out Spain's Carolina Marin 16-21, 21-11, 21-17. She will face Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying , who outplayed Wang Shixian 21-9, 21-15 in the other semifinal match.
The women's doubles will see China's Tang Yuanting-Yu Yang defeated Malaysia's Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei 21-15, 21-9 to set up a final clash with topseeds Misaki Matsumoto-Ayaka Takahashi.
In the mixed doubles, world No.1 Zhang Nan-Zhao Yunlei were upstaged by the hard-hitting Korean pair of Ko Sung Hyun-Kim Ha Na, the third seeds here. They will meet another Chinese pair, Xu Chen-Ma Jin.
SELECTED RESULTS
Men's singles
2-Lee Chong Wei (Mas) bt Ihsan Maulana Mustofa (Ina) 21-9, 21-18
5-Jan O Jorgensen (Den) bt 6-Tian Houwei (Chn) 21-14, 18-21, 21-17
Men's doubles
1-Lee Yong Dae-Yoo Yoon Seong (Kor) bt Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (Den) 21-16, 21-14
5-Chai Biao-Hong Wei (Chn) bt Mads Conrad-Petersen-Mads Pieler Kolding (Den) 18-21, 21-16, 21-14
Women's singles
Tai Tzu Ying (Tai) bt 6-Wang Shixian (Chn) 21-9, 21-15
4-Wang Yihan (Chn) bt 1-Carolina Marin (Spa) 16-21, 21-11, 21-17
Women's doubles
Tang Yuanting-Yu Yang (Chn) bt Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei (Mas) 21-15, 21-9
1-Misaki Matsumoto-Ayaka Takahashi (Jpn) bt Eefje Muskens-Selena Piek (Hol) 21-10, 21-18
Mixed doubles
5-Xu Chen-Ma Jin (Chn) bt Lu Kai-Huang Yaqiong (Chn) 21-15, 21-18
3-Ko Sung Hyun-Kim Ha Na (Kor) bt 1-Zhang Nan-Zhao Yunlei (Chn) 21-14, 21-17
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