 # Mixed doubles pair blow away Indonesians in semi-final
# Iskandar comes undone against home favourite Tien ChenÂ
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By Rizal Abdullah
Malaysia’s flag is still flying in the USD200,000 Yonex Taiwan Open Grand Prix Gold in Taipeh – thanks to the unseeded mixed doubles pair Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing who stormed into the final after Saturday’s semi-finals.
The Malaysians brushed aside the Indonesian pair of Riky Widianto-Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja 21-17, 22-20 in 46 minutes to reach their third final this year. And Kian Meng-Pei Jing hope to be third time lucky after playing bridesmaid in the Malaysian Masters and Polish Open earlier this year.
In Sunday’s final Kian Meng-Pei Jing will face China’s fifth seeds Zheng Siwei-Cheng Qingchen. The Chinese pair packed off another Indonesian pair Hafiz Faisal-Shella Devi Aulia also in straight sets 21-16, 21-18 in 26 minutes.
Meanwhile Malaysia’s challenge in the men’s singles ended with the defeat of 13th seed Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin who suffered a straight sets defeat to home favourite and fifth seed Chou Tien Chen. Tien Chen won 21-16, 21-10 in 39 minutes.
His opponent in the final is China’s Qiao Bin who ended 12th seed Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk’s run in the tournament with a 21-11, 21-16 win.
Taiwan also celebrated Tai Tzu Ying’s march into the women’s singles final. The second seeded Tzu Ying demolished Thailand’s Nitchaon Jindapol 21-15, 21-14 in the semi-finals in 35 minutes.
In the final Tzu Ying will face China’s Wang Shixian. The seeded Chinese had a tough opponent in compatriot He Bingjiao in the semi-finals before prevailing 21-18, 17-21, 21-18 in a 56 minute match.
The men’s doubles final will be between top seeds Li Junhui-Liu Yuchen of China and Taiwan’s fourth seeds Chen Hung Ling-Wang Chi Lin while the women’s doubles is an all-China affair between No 1 seeds Luo Ying-Luo Yu and unseeded Huang Dongping-Zhong Qianxin.
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SEMI-FINAL RESULTSÂ
Men’s singles
Chou Tien Chen (Tpe) beat Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin (Mas) 21-16, 21-10
Qiao Bin (Chn) beat Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (Tha) 21-11, 21-16
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Men’s DoublesÂ
Li Junhui-Liu Yuchen (Chn) beat Lee Sheng Mu-Tsai Chia Hsin (Tpe) 21-15, 21-19Â
Chen Hung Ling-Wang Chi Lin (Tpe) beat Huang Kaixiang-Zheng Siwei (Chn) 21-15, 21-23. 21-16
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Women’s singles
Wang Shixian (Chn) beat He Bingjiao (Chn) 21-18, 17-21. 21-18
Tai Tzu Ying (Tpe) beat Nitchaon Jindapol (Tha) 21-15, 21-14
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Women’s doublesÂ
Luo Ying-Luo Yu (Chn) beat Chaladchalam Chayanit-Phataimas Muenwong (Tha) 22-20, 21-19
Huang Dongping-Zhong Qianxin (Chn) beat Chen Qingchen=Jia Yifan (Chn) 21-16, 21-18
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Mixed Doubles
Zheng Siwei-Chen Qingchen (Chn) beat Hafiz Faisal-Shella Devi Aulia (Ina) 21-14, 21-12, 21-13
Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing (Mas) beat Riky Widianto-Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja (Ina) 21-17, 22-20
