Tokyo: On a day full of upsets in Japan Open quarter finals, world number one Lee Chong Wei managed to avoid an upset bid from Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia by closing it out 21-15, 12-21, 21-17 in 62-minute. Chong Wei will set up a mouth-watering clash with Kenichi Tago who is on a revenge mission, having whitewashed by Chong Wei in the Thomas Cup final last month.
On the other hand, luck was not on China’s side in the quarter final of Japan Open, where two time Olympic gold medalist Lin Dan was toppled by Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark 19-21, 21-13, 16-21; and Chen Long was crushed by Hu Yun of Hong Kong 18-21, 21-19, 15-21.
Despite Chong Wei’s dominance 16-1 record against Kenichi Tago, his coach Tey Seu Bock remained conservative when asked about semi-final meeting between Chong Wei and Kenichi.
“The slow shuttle in Japan Open really bothers Chong Wei a lot. It makes him lose focus easily. Luckily he was able to battle through this problem against Tommy,” said Seu Bock.
“We will not underestimate any of our opponents even though Chinese players are no longer stand in our way. We are hoping Chong Wei is able to defend his title in Tokyo,” add Seu Bock.
Other Malaysian, Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong were defeated by world number one pair Mohd Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia 16-21, 19-21 in the quarter finals of men’s doubles.
In the women’s quarterfinals, Olympic champion and top-seed Li Xuerui of China outclassed Spain’s Carolina Marin 21-14, 21-12.
In the semifinals, Li faces South Korea’s Sung Ji-Hyun who beat Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand 13-21, 22-20, 21-11.
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying stopped Sayaka Takahashi as the Japanese was injured when she was trailing in the second game 6-11 after losing the first 19-21.
In the other quarterfinal, unseeded Chinese Liu Xin beat Hong Kong’s Yip Pui-yin 19-21, 21-13, 21-14.
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