Jakarta: One day after the tough challenge from Wang Zhengming on his World Championships campaign, Lee Chong Wei surged into the semi-finals in Jakarta on Friday after brushing aside Hu Yun of Hong Kong 21-12, 21-18 in the men’s singles quarter-finals that lasted 35 minutes. Lee will face Jan O Jorgensen in the semi-finals.
Badminton fans that eagerly looking to watch Lee Chong Wei – Lin Dan rivalry at the 2015 World Championships will have to wait a bit more as Lin Dan was knocked out of the tournament by second seed Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark in the men’s singles quarter-finals. Jorgensen’s net plays and fast downward shots took Lin Dan out of his normal powerful smashes game style. That strategy eventually earned the Dane a place to clash with Lee in the semi-finals. That was the third victory for Jorgensen in his 10th meetings with Lin.
In an epic quarter-final showdown, Chen Long fought off a stubborn Viktor Axelsen of Denmark at the world championships Friday, with the plucky Dane pushing the top seed to the limit in Jakarta. Chen claimed the first game but the seventh-seeded Axelsen put up a dogged defense in the second, dragging the contest beyond an hour before succumbing 21-18, 30-29.
“I was starting to prepare for the third game, but luckily I got it,” Chen told reporters after the match.
“I was so close to getting the second set, but Chen Long played better than me here, but I am sure I will be proud of my performance today,” said the 21-year-old Dane.
Chen progressed to the semi-finals where he will face fourth seed Kento Momota, who dispatched Hong Kong`s Wei Nan 21-6, 21-14.
Sealing the victory in just 50 minutes, men’s doubles top seeds Lee Yong-Dae/Yoo Yeon-Seong remained on course for their maiden world title with a 21-15, 21-18 win against Fu Haifeng/Zhang Nan of China in 50 minutes. The top-seeded Koreans will meet Indonesia’s 3th seeds Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Liu Xiaolong/Qiu Zihan approached the second seeds Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen of Denmark with a well-rounded performance in the men’s doubles quarter-finals on Friday. Playing with power and speed, they dismantled the Danish pair 21-15, 21-19 in just 43 minutes. The Chinese pair will take on Hiroyuki Endo/Kenichi Hayakawa in the semi-finals. Endo/Hayakawa swept aside Angga Pratama/Ricky Karanda Suwardi 21-17, 14-21, 21-18 in other men’s doubles quarter-finals.
Indonesia’s Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir will take on top seeds Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei of China in the mixed doubles semi-finals on Saturday, while No. 4 seeds Liu Cheng/Bao Yixin set up another mixed doubles semi-final clash with compatriots the No. 2 seeds Xu Chen/Ma Jin.
