Jakarta: Malaysia’s badminton maestro and World No. 2 Lee Chong Wei brushed off tough challenge from World No. 5 Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark to win his sixth Indonesia Open title on Sunday.
Jorgensen was off to a solid start in the first set and quickly surged ahead with 6-2. Although Lee came back from 9-14 to level the score at 14-14, the Dane managed to hold off a late charge from Lee to claim the first set 21-17.
Both players were locked in a tight battle in the second set when the Dane appeared to be heading for victory as he was leading 19-17 in the second set.
Adding some late drama in this clash, the world number two Lee however did not give up the fight and broke back to tie the score at 19-19. Lee then produced a dazzling show to reel off next 2 points to force a decider.
The third set was completely one-sided, with Lee Chong Wei showing his greatness by overwhelming Jorgensen with powerful smashes and lighting fast shots to end the third set with 21-17 and to clinch his 6th Indonesia Open title.
Lee was happy with the win, but he also admitted he did not play well in the first set.
“I was preparing to lose the match when I was trailing 17-19 in the second set,” said Lee.
Meanwhile, Jorgensen was clearly disappointed for the defeat.
“I got off to a very strong start, however, I squandered my lead at the end of second set, and I am very disappointed,” said Jorgensen.
“I’ve experienced hip problem for the last two months, Lee was very strong and I was exhausted after the semifinals match,” added Jorgensen.
“Nevertheless, the match gave me confidence before the Olympics. It proved I could still be a dangerous player,” said Jorgensen.
Lee who had also won in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013, picked up $67,500 U.S. dollars for the title on Sunday. The victory also allowed Lee Chong Wei to tie the record set by two other Indonesian legends Taufik Hidayat (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006) and Ardy Wiranata (1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997), who had also won the titles six times.
After earning 11,000 points at the Indonesia Open, Lee will surpass China’s Chen Long as the new world No. 1 in next week’s Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings.
In men’s doubles final, Lee Yong Dae and Yoo Yeon Seong were pushed all the way by Chinese fifth seeds Chai Biao and Hong before winning the title with 13-21, 21-13, 21-16.
“Our opponents were playing with attacking style today, and the wind also affected our games. Thanks for strong support from the crowd, we were able to restore our performance to finally win the title,” said Lee Yong Dae.
