Lee Chong Wei was in majestic form as he swept aside the challenge from Taufik Hidayat to set up a top-of-the-table showdown against Bao Chunlai in badminton’s richest tournament – the YONEX-SUNRISE BWF World Super Series masters Finals 2009.
Chong Wei, the world No 1, beat the former world champion 21-6, 21-13 to ensure his place in the semi-final and will slug it out with Bao to see who will top Group A. Ss-Finals-D2-lcw
In a morning Group B match, Korea’s Park Sung Hwan stunned Peter Gade, the No 2 seed, and looks certain to top the group.
But Chong Wei was unperturbed with the outcome in Group B.
“Today was a very important match as this means I have qualified for the semi-finals. There is no pressure on me tomorrow but I still want to finish as group champion,” said Chong Wei.
“It does not matter who I have to play in the semi-final, I am ready.”
Bao Chunlai, on the other hand, survived a first game scare but recovered sufficiently to end Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Yu Hsin’s interest in the Masters Finals.
Despite dropping the first game 21-17, Bao came back strongly in the second game to draw level and eventually wore out Hsieh to win 17-21, 21-18, 21-16 and virtually assure his place in the semi-finals.
“Although we are used to competing in big numbers, it does not affect my focus in this tournament,” said Bao.
“There is no pressure and I take each match as it comes.” SS-Finals-D2-boe-mogensen
Top seeds Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong kept their semi-final hopes alive when they beat Indonesia’s Rian Sukmawan-Yonathan Dasuki in straight games.
With China’s Guo Zhendong-Xu Chen victorious over Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Mohd Fairuzizuan Tazari in the morning, the calculators were out as the pressure was on Koo-Tan to win in straight games.
And despite a shaky performance, the Malaysians won 21-15, 21-14 and will have to play much better on Friday when they take on the Chinese.
Guo-Xu are in the driving seat with two wins while both Malaysian pairs have a win each.
However, Zakry-Fairuzizuan have, on paper, the easier run in, as they take on Rian-Yonathan who have yet to win a single match.
“The pressure was tremendous as nothing less than a straight games win will ensure our survival,” said Koo.
“I could not play my normal game and there were too many errors. Tomorrow (Friday), we have to play better than we did today.”
Wong Mew Choo sealed her place in the last four with another convincing win against Thailand’s Porntip Buranaprasertsuk, taking just 27 minutes to win 21-9, 21-7.
Coming into the tournament as a late replacement for China’s Lu Lan, Mew Choo controlled the rallies to send the Thai scurrying to all four corners of the court.
While Mew Choo attributed her performance to her more relaxed approach, her coach Misbun Sidek said the former’s growing maturity and systematic approach was the key to her winning performance.
“In the past, she hardly settled down and never approached the game with a fixed game plan. But all that has changed,” said Misbun.
“She is more relaxed but more importantly, she is more focused and prepared for every game.”
Results:
Men’s singles: Group A: Lee Chong Wei (MAS) bt Taufik Hidayat (INA) 21-6, 21-13; Bao Chunlai (CHN) bt Hsieh Yu Hsin (TPE) 17-21, 21-8, 21-16; Lee Chong Wei (MAS) bt Taufik Hidayat (INA); Women’s singles: Group A: Wong Mew Choo (MAS) bt Porntip Buranaprasertsuk (THA) 21-9, 21-7; Men’s doubles: Group A: Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong (MAS) bt Rian Sukmawan-Yonathan Dasuki (INA) 21-15, 21-14; Group B: Carsten Mogensen-Mathias Boe (DEN) bt Nathan Robertson-Anthony Clark (ENG) 21-15, 18-21, 21-13; Women’s doubles: Group A: Charmaine Reid-Nicole Grether (CAN-GER) bt Jenny Wallwork-Gabrielle White (ENG) 21-17, 21-13; Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty (MAS) bt Kamilla Rytter Juhl-Lena Frier Kristiansen (DEN) 21-19, 21-15; Group B: Duang Anong Aroonkesorn-Kunchala Voravichitchaikul (THA) bt Chou Chia Chi-Chang Hsin Yun (TPE) 18-21, 21-16, 22-20; Mixed doubles: Group B: V Diju-Jwala Gutta (IND) bt Hendra Gunawan-Vita Marissa (INA) 21-18, 21-17; Joachim Fischer Nielsen-Christinna Pedersen (ENG) bt Sudket Prapakamol-Saralee Thuongthongkam (THA) 19-21, 21-18, 21-17.
Source : www.internationalbadminton.org
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