Odense: Malaysia’s No. 4 seeds men’s doubles pair Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong became the only Malaysian shuttlers to reach Denmark Open final following quarter-final loss of men’s singles No. 1 seed Lee Chong Wei on Friday.
In the semi-final actions at the Odense Sports Park on Saturday, Goh/Tan outlasted No. 2 seeds Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen of Denmark with their consistency, aggressiveness and superior fitness. Goh/Tan fought back from a set down to see off the local shuttlers 20-22, 21-15, 21-11 in 57 minutes.
Goh/Tan who also won the Rio Olympic silver medal will take on unseeded Bodin Isara/Nipitphon Phuangphuapet from Thailand in the final. Isara/Phuangphuapet had stunned No. 7 seeds Angga Pratama/Ricky Karanda Suwardi of Indonesia 21-11, 21-18 in the other semifinal match.
In men’s singles, France player Brice Leverdez’s fairy tale run at the tournament came to an abrupt end when 2016 Thailand Open winner Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand blew past Leverdez with an easy 21-9, 21-13 win in the semi-finals.
Saensomboonsuk will take on No. 6 seed Son Wan Ho of Korea after Son rolled past fellow Korean Lee Hyun Il 21-14, 21-16 in 39 minutes.
Joachim Fischer Nielsen/Christinna Pedersen of Denmark will meet Zheng Siwei/Chen Qingchen of China in the mixed doubles final.
