Odense: Japan’s No. 3 seed Nozomi Okuhara of Japan who lost to Carolina Marin of Spain in the first round of China Open last month, exacted revenge against the Rio Olympic gold medalist on Saturday, beating Marin 18-21, 21-12, 21-16 in a 75-minute battle to enter the Denmark Open final.
Okuhara opened the match with a 5-0 perfect start. After Marin tied the score at 9-9, the Spaniard went on to claim the first set 21-18. Okuhara then took the second set 21- 12.
In the decider, Marin started to make some uncharacteristic mistakes after 5-5, while Okuhara actively attacking to lead at 13-7. Although Marin managed to tie the score at 13-13, Okuhara held her nerve to win the third match with 21-16.
In another women’s singles semi-final, defending champion Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan took the first set 21-14 against Chen Yu Fei of China. While Tai was leading at 14-11 in the second set, Chen accidentally sprained and injured her right ankle and was forced to retire.
Indonesia’s No. 6 seeds Praveen Jordan/Melati Daeva Oktavianti continued their strong forms to beat Wang Chi-lin/Cheng Chi Ya of Taiwan 21-12, 21-12 to enter the mixed doubles final. Jordan/Oktavianti will play No. 2 seeds Wang Yi Lyu/Huang Dong Ping of China in the final.
Meanwhile, Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan of China and Baek Ha Na/Jung Kyung Eun of Korea will face each other in the women’s doubles final on Sunday.
