# Fighting Chong Wei falls to Viktor Axelsen in final Group B match
# V Sham-Wee Kiong top Group B in men’s doubles
# Vivian Hoo-Khe Wei end Dubai campaign without a win in women’s doubles
By Rizal Abdullah
Four-time winner Datuk Lee Chong Wei’s hopes of winning the title for the fifth time ended at the group stage in this year’s Dubai’Superseries Finals at the Hamdan Sports Complex in Dubai on Friday.
The Malaysian’s was ended by Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen when the lanky Dane came-from-behind to notch a 14-21, 21-14, 21-19 win in 72 minutes for his first win over Chong Wei in 11 meetings.
Both players needed a win to advance but it was the Dane who rode on Chong Wei’s below par performance to advance. Chong Wei’s back hand returns did not quite work against Axelsen,
Chong Wei and Axelsen went into the match as winners of the Rio Olympics and silver and bronze medal respectively.
The 34-year-old Malaysian had won the World Superseries titles in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2013.
However, a hamstring injury he sustained in the Denmark Open in October saw him layoff from competitive badminton which saw skip several tournaments.
It was also a losing end to Malaysia’s women’s doubles pair of Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei when the Malaysians lost to China’s Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan 17-21, 18-21 in 41 minutes.
However, Malaysia’s flag is still flying in the men’s doubles with world No 1 Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong in the semi-finals with a clean sheet. In their final Group B match the Malaysians beat Chai Biao-Hong Wei 16-21, 21-13, 22-20 to top the group.
Meanwhile, India’s P.V. Sindhu handed Spain’s Carolina Marin a 21-17, 21-13 beating in 47 minutes and in the process exacted sweet revenge on her opponent for her defeat in the Rio Olympics final.
The defeat meant Marin ended the season without a Superseries title this year. In Dubai the Spaniard lost all three matches in Group B – to China’s Sun Yu (21-18, 24-22) and Akane Yamaguchi of Japan (18-21, 21-17, 21-14) before the defeat to Sindhu.
RESULTS (3rd Day)
Men’s singles
GROUP A
Tian Houwei (Chn) beat Jan O Jorgensen (Den) 21-16, 22-20
Marc Zwiebler (Ger) beat Hu Yun (Hkg) 21-10, 18-10 (rtd)
GROUP B
Angus Ng Ka Long (Hkg) beat San Wan-ho (Kor) 24-26, 21-8, 21-11
Viktor Axelsen (Den) beat Lee Chong Wei (Mas) 14-21, 21-14, 21-19
Women’s singles
GROUP A
Sung Ji-hyun (Kor) beat He Bingjiao (Chn) beat Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) 21-19, 10-11 (rtd)
Sung Ji-hyun (Kor) beat Tai Tzu Ying (Tpe) 21-15 21-17
GROUP B
Sun Yu (Chn) beat Akane Yamaguchi (Jpn) 15-21, 21-10, 21-10
P.V. Sindhu (Ind) beat Carolina Marin (Spn) 21-17, 21-13
Men’s doubles
GROUP A
Mads Conrad Petersen-Mads Pieler Kolding (Den) beat Angga Pratama-Ricky Karanda Suwardi (Ina) 21-15, 18-21, 21-18
Takeshi Kamura-Keigo Sonoda (Jpn) beat Marcus Fernaldi Gideon-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (Ina) 21-15, 21-19
GROUP B
Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong (Mas) beat Chai Biao-Hong Wei (Chn) 16-21, 21-13, 22-20
Li Junhui-Liu Yuchen (Chn) w/o Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen (Den)
Women’s doubles
GROUP A
Misaki Matsutomo-Ayaka Takahashi (Jpn) beat Chang Ye-na-Lee So-hee (Kor) 21-18, 21-14
Luo Ying-Luo Yu (Chn) beat Naoko Fukuman-Kurumi Yonao (Jpn) 21-18, 23-21
GROUP B
Kamilla Rhytter Juhl-Christinna Pedersen (Den) beat Jung Kyung-eun-Shin Seung-chan (Kor) 21-19, 9-21, 21-16
Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan (Chn) beat Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei (Mas) 21-17, 21-18
Mixed doubles
GROUP A
Praveen Jordan-Debby Susanto (Ina) beat Joachim Fischer Nielsen-Christinna Pedersen (Den) 21-17, 21-16
Ko Sung-hyun-Kim Ha-na (Kor) w/o Tontowi Ahmad-Liliyana Natsir (Ina)
GROUP B
Zheng Siwei-Chen Qingchen (Chn) beat Kenta Kazuno-Ayane Kurihara (Jpn) 21-19, 21-14
Chris Adcock-Gabrielle Adcock (Eng) beat Lu Kai-Huang Yaqiong (Chn) 24-22, 21-19
