Ho Chi Minh City: Tommy Sugiarto earned a big boost of momentum with a 21-14, 21-19 victory over unseeded compatriot Ginting Anthony on Saturday at the men’s singles semi-finals at Vietnam Open.
Sugiarto raced to 17-6 in the opening set before he eased past Anthony 21-14 to claim the first set. However, 18-year-old Ginting Anthony provided stiffer resistance in the second set, battled competitively for each and every single point to level the score at 19-19. Sugiarto held his nerve and kept his cool, reeling off the next two points to clinch the second set with 21-19. He will take on South Korean Lee Hyun-Il in the men’s final on Sunday.
On the brink of losing the opening set, Lee Hyun-Il held on to beat Malaysia’s Chong Wei Feng 24-22 in the first set of the other men’s singles semi-finals. Lee Hyun-Il then shook off the rust, notching up a commanding second set victory against Chong Wei Feng with 21-15.
In mixed doubles, Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying have crashed out in the semi-finals of Vietnam Open after being out-muscled and out-fought in two sets by a young and inspired Chinese pair Huang Kaixiang/Huang Dongping, losing 9-21, 17-21. The Chinese duo will face off against Choi Solgyu/Chae Yoo Jung of Korea in the final.
After defeating No. 1 seed Busanan Ongbumrungpan in the second round, Fitriani Fitriani of Indonesia continued her improbable Cinderella run in the women’s singles semi-finals, where she edged past Cheng Chi Ya of Taiwan 21-19, 21-19 to earn a spot in the final. She will clash with Japanese Saena Kawakami for the women’s singles crown on Sunday.
Other final matches to be played on Sunday are men’s doubles where top seeds Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen will set up an all-Chinese men’s doubles final against Huang Kaixiang/Wang Sijie; while Jongkonphan Kittiharakul/Rawinda Prajongjai of Thailand will face-off against Indonesians Suci Rizky Andini/Maretha Dea Giovani in women’s doubles final.
