Odense: The 37-year-old Lee Hyun-il of Korea on Saturday showed that he still has a lot left in him, coming from a set down to defeat No. 1 seed and compatriot Son Wan-Ho to make it to the Denmark Open final. Lee defeated his compatriot and former World No. 1 Son Wan-Ho 25-23, 18-21, 21-17 in one hour and 32 minutes in the first men’s singles semifinal to set up what a mouth-watering contest against No. 8 seed Kidambi Srikanth of India.
Srikanth who defeated World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen in the quarter-finals, stormed into his fourth Superseries final of the year when he outlasted Hong Kong shuttler Vincent Wong Wing Ki 21-18, 21-17 in 39 minutes.
“It’s wonderful to see Lee Hyun-il and the way he has played. He actually has one of the finest footwork in the sport. It’s about the kind of balance he has, and it’s amazing to see him on court. It’s like the textbook of badminton,” said Srikanth’s coach Pullela Gopichand.
In men’s doubles, reigning men’s doubles World Champion and No. 5 seeds Zhang Nan/Liu Cheng from China bounced back from dropping the second set to win 21-18, 18-21, 21-13 over No. 1 seeds Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen of Denmark. Zhang/Liu are set to take on No. 2 seeds Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia in the final.
Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo on the other hand completely dominated the semi-final match and broke compatriots Ricky Karandasuwardi/Angga Pratama 21-18, 21-11 in 34 minutes to advance into the final.
