Jakarta: The Indonesia Open semi-finals will witness the much-anticipated rematch between Malaysia’s world champion duo, Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik, and Indonesia’s World No. 25 Pramudya Kusumawardana/Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan to go at each other on Saturday.
Highlights of Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik vs. Akira Koga/Taichi Saito in the 2023 Indonesia Open quarter-finals:
Chia/Soh have emerged victorious in their previous two meetings against Kusumawardana/Rambitan, including a first-round win of 21-18, 10-21. 23-21 at the Malaysia Masters on May 23, 2023, and the 2022 Indonesia Open quarter-finals.
On the other hand, Kusumawardana/Rambitan have been struggling this year, experiencing early eliminations in eight tournaments. This marks their first semi-finals of 2023.
In the quarter-finals on Friday, Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik triumphed over the World No. 23 Japanese pair, Akira Koga/Taichi Saito, with a commanding score of 21-10, 21-15. This victory not only broke their two-game losing streak against the Japanese pair but also secured their third win in the six encounters between the two pairs.
This week’s Indonesia Open also marked the second consecutive semi-final appearance for the Chia/Soh, after the Singapore Open last week.
Additionally, Indonesia Open would be the 10th tournament Chia/Soh have participated in this year, and it is their third time reaching the semi-finals. They also made it to the semi-finals in the India Open held in January.
In today’s matches, Kusumawardana/Rambitan narrowly defeated China’s World No. 2 Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang 16-21, 21-17, 21-19, marking their first victory against the Chinese pair.
In the upper half of the men’s doubles draw, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty of India will meet Kang Min Hyuk/Seo Seung Jae of Korea for a spot in the final.
The men’s singles quarter-finals saw World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen in complete dominance, as he only allowed World No. 8 Chou Tien Chen to score 5 points in the first game, ultimately beating Chou 21-5, 21-19 to advance to the semi-finals. Axelsen is now just two matches away from achieving a three-peat at Indonesia Open. He will play H. S. Prannoy of India next while Anthony Sinisuka Ginting will take on Li Shifeng in another men’s singles semi-final.
