Malang: The 2022 Korea Open champion – Weng Hong Yang played steadily to overcome former World No. 1 Son Wan Ho of Korea 21-13, 21-16 in the Indonesia International Challenge semi-finals on Saturday to set up a final encounter with teammate Lei Lan Xi in the final.
The World No. 338 Lei Lanxi, however, was made to work before completing the comeback to beat World No. 113 Jeon Hyeok Jin of Korea 15-21, 21-15, 21-13.
In men’s doubles, Hiroki Okamura/Masayuki Onodera of Japan spoiled Indonesia’s plan for an all-Indonesian final when they outlasted Alfian Eko Prasetya/Ade Yusuf Santoso 21-15, 21-11 to play local pair – Rahmat Hidayat/Pramudya Kusumawardana for the men’s doubles crown.
The women’s singles Gao Fangjie of China who damaged her Achilles tendon in the left ankle and had to be wheeled out of the court during the women’s singles second-round match against Carolina Marin of Spain at the 2019 Malaysia Masters, made her first return to the international tournament in 3 years and able to knock out South Korean Jeon Jui 21-8, 21-17 to set up a final meeting with Riko Gunji of Japan. Gunji was the winner of the 2019 World Junior Championships, therefore, she could give Gao a tough fight to Gao in the final.
Meanwhile, Sayaka Hobara/Hinata Suzuki will face Lanny Tria Mayasari/Ribka Sugiarto of Indonesia in the women’s doubles final while Dejan Ferdinansyah/Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja of Indonesia will take on Jiang Zhen Bang/Wei Ya Xin from China in the mixed doubles final.
