News - Malaysians cruise into finals

Malaysians cruise into finals

WORLD No 3 Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong secured their first final appearance in three months with a crushing display while Lee Chong Wei received a free ride into the men’s singles final of the Philippines Open in Manila yesterday.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong, the top seeds, were in an uncompromising mood against South Korean pair Han Sang Hoon-Cho Gun Woo and won 21-4, 21-12 in just 15 minutes in their semi-final.

Koo Kien Keat (right) and Tan Boon Heong beat South Koreans Han Sang Hoon-Cho Gun Woo 21-4, 21-12.

Chong Wei, the second seed, did not have to lift his racquet as Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia conceded a walkover after suffering back spasms.

Chong Wei, the World No 3, will renew his rivalry with World No 2 Chen Hong of China, who defeated South Korean Park Sung Hwan 21-16, 21-19, in the final today.

Canadian silver medallist and occasional tour guide Charmaine Reid

Chen Hong has beaten Chong Wei five times in nine meetings but the Malaysian will be confident, having won the last three encounters against the former World No 1.

Chong Wei’s most recent win over Chen Hong was in the semi-finals of the Indonesia Open in May where he went on to clinch the title.

Chen Hong also appears to be in good form after winning the Thailand Open two weeks ago but current form indicates that Chong Wei will be hard to beat in the final today.

A win will also be a great boost for Chong Wei who will be aiming to become Malaysia’s first shuttler to win a world title when the event is held in Putra Stadium on Aug 13-19.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong’s aggressive approach means that they have almost regained the form that helped them clinch the All England and Swiss Open titles in March.

A defeat by compatriots Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah in the Asian Championships final in Johor Baru in April attracted a lot of criticism while Kien Keat-Boon Heong’s lowest point of their young partnership was in the Sudirman Cup last month where they were thrashed by World No 1 Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun of China.

National doubles coach Rexy Mainaky decided not to send them for tournaments and a four-week training stint before the Philippines Open seems to have paid off for the top national pair.

Rexy wants Kien Keat-Boon Heong to clinch the tournament in Manila to boost their confidence ahead of the World Championships.

Kien Keat-Boon Heong can do so when they play China’s second ranked combination Guo Zhendong-Xie Zhongbo, who defeated defending champions Albertus Susanto-Johan Hadi Kusuma of Hong Kong 21-17, 21-17 in the semi-final, in today’s final.

Results — (All s-finals) Men’s singles: Chen Hong (Chn) bt Park Sung Hwan (S Kor) 21-16, 21-19; Lee Chong Wei (Mas) w.o. Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Ina).

Doubles: Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong (Mas) bt Han Sang Hoon-Cho Gun Woo (S Kor) 21-4, 21-12; Guo Zhendong-Xie Zhongbo (Chn) bt Albertus Susanto-Johan Hadi Kusuma (HK) 21-17, 21-17.

Women’s singles: Zhou Mi (Chn) bt Juliane Schenk (Ger) 21-14, 17-21, 21-12; Zhu Jingjing (Chn) bt Adrianti Firdasari (Ina) 21-13, 22-20.

Doubles: Pan Pan-Tian Qing (Chn) bt Miyuki Maeda-Satoko Suetsuna (Jpn) 21-12, 11-21, 21-9; Chien Yu Chin-Cheng Wen Hsing (Tai) bt Lita Nurlita-Nathalia Poluakan (Ina) 21-17, 24-22.

Mixed doubles: Han Sang Hoon-Hwang Yu Mi (S Kor) bt Flandy Limpele-Vita Marissa (Ina) 23-21, 11-21, 21-19; Nova Widianto-Lilyana Natsir (Ina) bt Songphon Anukritayawon-Kunchala Voravichitchaikul (Tha) 21-14, 21-18.

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