Jakarta: The 21-year-old Indonesian player Anthony Sinisuka Ginting’s strong run at the Istora Senayan stadium helped bring the local crowds screaming seamlessly as he defeated the No. 6 seed Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan 21-16, 13-21, 21-12 on Saturday to enter the Indonesia Masters final.
“I was tired and I conserved some energy in the second set, before coming out full force in the third set,” said Ginting.
The unseeded Indonesian player faces Kazumasa Sakai of Japan on Sunday.
Sakai had to fight hard to see off No. 4 seed Son Wan Ho of Korea 21-18, 20-22, 21-15 in 69 minutes in another semi-final.
“I will be focusing on the speed and net shots in the final. I am hoping to win the title on Sunday,” said Sakai.
The Indonesian fans are going to gear up to root for their other home players such as men’s doubles No. 1 seeds Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and mixed doubles No. 1 seeds Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir in the final.
Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo needed only 30 minutes to ease past Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty of India 21-14, 21-11 to set up a clash with No. 2 seeds Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen of China. Li/Liu defeated compatriots and world champions Liu Cheng/Zhang Nan 26-24, 14-21, 21-12 in another semi-finals.
Meanwhile, in an all-Indonesian semi-finals, Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir outlasted teammates Praveen Jordan/Melati Daeva Oktavianti 22-20, 21-17 to set up a final meeting with No. 6 seeds Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong of China.
