Sim_Yu-jin (Photo by Tony2803.tw)
Korean superstar An Se-young as expected cruised into the semi-finals of the Indonesian Open badminton championships but it was her teammate Sim Yu-jin, who continues to surprise at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta.
The day also saw the top seeded mixed doubles pairing of Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping of China and the Malaysian women’s doubles second seeds Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan being shown the exit.
Yu Jin, who had disposed of world number two Wang Zhiyi in the second round, earned her first Super 1000 semifinal place with a comfortable straight-games win over eighth seed Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan.
The 27-year-old, who played a pivotal role in helping Korea win the coveted Uber Cup title in May, took just 38-minutes to carve out the 21-18, 21-15 win over Miyazaki.
Yu-jin takes on third seed Akane Yamaguchi, while Se Young faces familiar rival Chen Yufei in the semi-finals.
“I can’t believe this, I’m so happy. My opponent was really fast, so I had to keep up my speed and I tried to keep up the attack. The drift due to the aircon is quite strong so it’s hard to control the shuttle, said Yu-jin.
The Korean had lost to Miyazaki in straight games at the Malaysian Open last month. She is now the only unseeded player left standing in the women’s singles semi-finals.
There was also plenty of surprises in the men’s singles with newly crowned Singapore Open champion Alex Lanier of France crashing out in the quarter-finals.
Thailand’s Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul continued to show his growing potential to beat Lanier 21-18, 7-21, 21-17 in a match that lasted just short of an hour.
The Istora Senayan seems top be a good hunting ground for the Thai youngster, who was the runner-to the hosts Alwi Farhan at the Indonesian Masters earlier this year.
He had also made it to the finals of both the Thailand Masters and Malaysia Masters recently, losing to Zaki Ubaidillah of Indonesia and China’s Li Shifeng respectively.
The 21-year-old will be looking to make another final and a shot at the title, But he will need to get past fifth seeded Jonatan Christie in the semi-finals tomorrow.
Jonatan had to overcome a gritty Yushi Tanaka, before getting past the Japanese 21-19, 24-22.
The other semifinal will feature veteran Chou Tien Chen against rising star Victor Lai of Canada.
Victor had his quarterfinal mostly under control against Frenchman Toma Junior Popov, winning 21-8, 21-14.
“I’m pretty happy, little bit on the luckier side of the draw, with Kunlavut injured,” Victor said.
“No seeds in my quarter, but I just play whoever’s in front of me. I’m really happy with the way I played today, because in the second game he came back, he had a lot of momentum, but I was able to stop it and change it my way.
“This is my first time in Istora. The last two matches were the loudest I’ve ever played. It was very very hard to focus. You can’t hear your coach too well, and even your own thoughts… you’re thinking something and suddenly you hear a huge roar. It’s a natural human thing to look.”
His opponent in the semi-finals would be a much harder nut to crack. Veteran Tien Chen was a comfortable 21-15, 21-15 winner over Hong Kong’s Lee Cheuk Yiu.
Top seeded Yanzhe-Dong Ping, have failed to get to the mixed doubles podium for the second time. After crashing out in the opening round at the Singapore Open, they were beaten 14-21, 21-11, 10-21 in the quarter-finals in Jakarta by teammates Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi.
Also out in the last eight are the Thai second seeds Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran, who were beaten 15-21, 21-14, 18-21 by Danes Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje, the fifth seeds.
Fourth seeds Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue were also almost given the boot by the husband and wife pairing of Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie. The French duo saved three match points to claim a 15-21, 21-18, 22-20 victory.
In the women’s doubles, second seeds Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan continue to struggle as they were beaten 20-22, 16-21 by Japan’s Rui Hirokami-Sayaka Hobara.
Pearly has been sidelined since the Uber Cup due to an injury and the pair have been unable to maintain their form, having also lost early at the Singapore Open last week.
There was also an upset in the men’s doubles with Indonesian upstarts Raymod Indra-Nikolaus Joaquin coming back from a game down to beat eighth seeded Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi of Japan 16-21, 24-22, 21-18
QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS
Men’s singles: Victor Lai (Can) bt Toma Junior Popov (Fra) 21-8, 21-14; Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul (Tha) bt Alex Lanier (Fra) 21-18, 7-21, 21-17; Jonatan Christie (Ina) bt Yushi Tanaka (Jpn) 21-19, 22-24; Chou Tien Chen (Tpe) bt Lee Cheuk Yiu (Hkg) 21-15, 21-15
Men’s doubles: Raymond Indra-Nikolaus Joaquin (Ina) bt Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi (Jpn) 16-21, 24-22, 21-18; Sabar Karyaman Gutama-Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani (Ina) bt Chen Boyang-Liu Yi (Chn) 21-15, 21-15; Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae (Kor) bt Lee Fang-chih-Lee Fang-Jen (Tpe) 21-11, 21-17; Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin (Mas) bt Hariharan Amsakarunan-M.R. Arjun (Ind) 21-12, 21-10
Women’s singles: Chen Yufei (Chn) bt Putri Kusuma Wardani (Ina) 21-13, 22-20; An Se-young (Kor) bt Pornpawee Chochuwong (Tha) 21-19, 21-11; Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) bt Chiu Pin-chian (Tpe) 21-13, 21-12; Sim Yu-jin (Kor) bt Tomoka Miyazaki (Jpn) 21-18, 21-15
Women’s doubles: Rui Hirokami-Sayaka Hobara (Jpn) bt Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan (Mas) 22-20, 21-16; Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto (Jpn) bt Amalia Cahaya Prartiwi-Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti (Ina) 13-21, 21-12, 21-13; Rachel Allessya Rose-Febi Setianigrum (Ina) bt Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma-Meilysa Trias Puspitasari (Ina) 8-21, 21-15, 21-11; Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning (Chn) bt Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi (Jpn) 21-15, 21-13
Mixed doubles: Guo Xinwa-Chen Fanghui (Chn) bt Ye Hong Wei-Nicole Gonzales Chan (Tpe) 19-21, 22-20, 21-13; Cheng Xing-Zhang Chi bt (Chn) Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping (Chn) 21-14, 11-21, 21-19; Thom Gicquel-Delphine Delrue (Fra) bt Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie (Mas) 15-21, 21-18, 22-20; Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje (Den) bt Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Supissara Paewsampran (Tha) 21-15, 14-21, 21-18
