Reigning World champion Lin Dan was not at his best but was still good enough to outsmart the sixth-seeded Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia 21-14, 13-21, 21-15 in the men’s singles semifinal of the BWF World badminton championship here on Saturday. In an all-Chinese final, Lin will clash with second-seeded Jin Chen on Sunday.
Jin had a comparatively easy 21-16, 21-6 victory over fourth-seeded Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia in the other semifinal.
Top seed Lin was choosy with his big smashes and preferred net dribbles to control the pace of the game.
The first game gave a clear hint that it was not going to be a cakewalk for the Chinese as Kuncoro (who incidentally lost in the final of the last edition to Lin), matched him stroke for stroke.
Changing gears
In the second game, it was Kuncoro’s turn to change gears and he was successful in often catching his opponent on the wrong foot. It was obvious that Lin was having problems in getting his smashes going. Moreover, the Indonesian attacked the champion’s backhand consistently leaving little scope for Lin to smash.
But the decider saw the true class of Lin as he kept the shuttle high, pushing his rival to the baseline repeatedly to create space for smashing in mid-court. And eventually this gave Lin the upper hand. Lin also consistently attacked Kuncoro’s body.
High-voltage display
Earlier, second seeded Jin made Hidayat, former Olympic and World champion, look pretty ordinary with a high-voltage display. The 28-year-old Hidayat just could not get his game right as the 23-year-old, athletic Jin came up with a terrific attacking game and won quite easily.
The women’s singles final will also be an all-Chinese affair as the seventh-seeded Lan Lu shocked second seed Lin Wang 21-18, 21-19, while the fifth-seeded Xingfang Xie got the better off eighth seed Pi Hongyan of France 21-18, 21-8 in the semifinals.
Top seeds upset
Former All England champions Thomas Laybourn and Kamilia Rytter Juhl of Denmark shocked Olympic champions and top-seeded Yong Dae Lee and Hyo Jung Lee of Korea 18-21, 21-9, 21-18 in 68-minute in the mixed doubles semifinal.
The results (all semifinals): Men’s singles: Jin Chen (Chn) bt Taufik Hidayat (Ina) 21-16, 21-6; Lin Dan (Chn) bt Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Ina) 21-14, 13-21, 21-15.
Men’s doubles: Yun Cai & Haifeng Fu (Chn) bt Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif & Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari (Mas) 18-21, 24-22, 21-15; Jae Sung Jung & Yong Dae Lee (Kor) bt Kien Keat Koo & Boon Heong Tan (Mas) 16-21, 21-14, 22-20.
Women’s singles: Lan Lu (Chn) bt Lin Wang (Chn) 21-18, 21-19; Xingfang Xie (Chn) bt Pi Hongyan (Fra) 21-18, 21-8.
Women’s doubles: Yawen Zhang & Tingting Zhao (Chn) bt Jing Du & Yang Yu (Chn) 24-22, 18-21, 21-8; Shu Cheng & Yunlei Zhao (Chn) bt Jin Ma & Xiaoli Wang (Chn) 21-16, 21-12.
Mixed doubles: Nova Widianto & Liliyana Natsir (Ina) bt Joachim Fischer Nielsen & Christinna Pedersen (Den) 21-18, 14-21, 21-18; Thomas Laybourn & Kamilia Rytter Juhl (Den) bt Yong Dae Lee & Hyo Jung Lee (Kor) 18-21, 21-9, 21-18.
