Jakarta: The Indonesia Open men’s semi-final on Saturday between Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia and Kento Momota of Japan will be a rematch of last week’s Malaysia Open final.
Lee, the No. 7 seed came back from 11-16 in the second set to dispatch Kantaphon Wangcharoen of Thailand 21-13, 22-20 in the 43-minute quarterfinal match at Istora Senayan. The 35-year-old Malaysian told reporter that he would play his best to overcome the highly talented Momota on Saturday.
On the other hand, World No. 8 Kento Momota signed off on another masterful display as he outlasted the injured Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia 21-11, 21-15. Sugiarto injured his ankle in the second-round match against Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan.
“I moved very slow because of the injury ― it hurt my reflexes,” said Sugiarto.
The No. 1 seed Victor Axelsen of Denmark will No. 3 seed China’s Shi Yuqi in another men’s singles semi-final.
The epic clash between Malaysia’s mixed double pair of Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying and No. 2 seeds Wang Yilyu/Huang Dongping of China, which stretched deep into the evening, saw the Malaysian pair dominated the quarter-finals with a 21-19, 21-14 victory in 38 minutes.
“Wang/Huang are good pair, but I think we played better today,” said Chan.
Chan/Goh will take on another Chinese pair, Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong in the semi-finals.
In another mixed doubles semi-final match, Indonesia’s Rio Olympic gold medalists Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir will face off against compatriots Hafiz Faizal/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja.
The World number-one ranked Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon heartened the hometown crowd by clinching victory in a tough match against Danish pair Mads Conrad-Petersen and Mads Pieler Kolding.
The Indonesians lost the first game and were down in the second with their backs against the wall, but they managed to rally back to force a victorious third match. The final score was 20-22, 22-20 and 21-18.
Sukamuljo/Gideon are set to clash against teammates Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto next.
