By Rizal Abdullah
The statistics do not favour them but Malaysia’s No 1 mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying do not fear playing top seeds and favourites Xu Chen- Ma Jin in the semi-finals in the USD150,000 China Masters Grand Prix Gold in Jiangsu on Saturday.
In seven meetings between the two the Malaysians have won only once and this was at the Malaysia Open Superseries Premier in Shah Alam earlier this month in a second round match.
In the quarter-finals at the Olympic Sports Center Xincheng Gymnasium on Friday the Malaysians, ranked No 11 in the world and seeded No 6 in the China Masters carved out a 21-17, 21-17 in 38 minutes over China’s He Jiting-Du Yeu.
The Malaysians went on to reach the final in the Malaysia Open where they lost to Indonesia’s Tontowi Ahmad-Liliyana Natsir. Peng Soon-Liu Ying also won the New Zealand Open Grand Prix Gold champions.
Meanwhile, China’s Chen Long and Lin Dan also marched into the semi-finals in the men’s singles.
In the quarter-finals Chen Long, the top seed, was simply too good for India’s H. S. Prannoy and defeated the seventh seed 21-10, 21-15 in 46 minutes.
Lin Dan was taken the full distance by compatriot Lu Guangzu for his 21-14, 17-21, 21-12 win to stay on track for his fifth China Masters title. The match lasted 50 minutes.
In the semifinals Chen Long, the world No 1 will face Thailand’s Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk who ended South Korean Lee Dong Keun’s campaign with a 21-13, 21-18 win.
Lin Dan will feature in another all-China affair and it will be the “battle of the Lins” when he faces newcomer Lin Guipu. Guipu defeated Japanese youngster Kazumasa Sakai 21-10, 21-18 in a 43-minute quarter-final match.
In the women’s singles top seed Li Xuerui has no trouble in her 21-11, 21-6 win over sixth seed and compatriot He Bingjiao in only 30 minutes to earn a semi-final clash Chen Yufei. Yufei pulled off an upset 22-20, 22-20 win over eighth seed and much more experienced Korean opponent Bae Yeon-ju after a 58 minute battle.
In another quarter-final match fifth seed Sun Yu of China came off a 21-10, 21-17 winner against Thailand’s Busanan Ongbumrungphan. Sun Yu will take on another Thai opponent Porntip Buranaprasertsuk for a place in the final. The Thai knocked out fourth seed P.V. Sindhu of India 21-17, 21-19.
In the men’s doubles China’s Huang Kaixiang-Zheng Siwei upset fourth seeds Ko-Sung-hyun-Shin Baek-cheol of Korea 21-15, 21-19 to earn a shot at No 1 seeds Lee Yong-dae-Yoo Yeon-seong.
The Luo twins of China – Luo Ying- Luo Yu – are through to the semi-finals after their 21-11, 21-14 win over India’s Jwala Gutta-Ashwinini Ponappa. They face Indonesians Della Destiara Haris-Rosyita Eka Putri Sari who knocked out Japan’s Yuki Fukushima-Sayaka Hirota 12-21, 25-23, 21-18.
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QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS
Men’s singles
Chen Long (Chn) beat H.S. Prannoy (Ind) 21-10, 21-15
Lin Dan (Chn) beat Lu Guangzu (Chn) 21-14, 17-21, 21-12
Tanongsak Saensombonsuk (Tha) beat Lee Dong Keun (Kor) 21-13, 21-18
Lin Guipu (Chn) beat Kazumasa Sakai (Jpn) 21-10, 21-18
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Men’s doubles (Second Round)
Huang Kaixiang-Zheng Siwei (Chn) beat Ko Sung-hyun-Shin Baek-cheol (Kor) 21-15, 21-19
Kim Gi-jung-Kim Sa-rang (Kor) beat He Jiting-Tan Qiang (Chn) 21-17, 24-22
Lee Yong-dae-Yoo Yeon-seong (Kor) beat Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Rian Ardianto (Ina) 21-13, 23-21
Takeshi Kumura-Keigo Sonoda (Jpn) beat Wang Yilyu-Zhang Wen (Chn) 21-16, 21-12
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Women’s singles (Second Round)
Li Xuerui (Chn) beat He Bingjiao (Chn) 21-11, 21-6
Chen Yufei (Chn) beat Bae Yeon-ju (Kor) 22-20, 22-20
Porntip Buranaprasertsuk (Tha) beat P.V. Sindhu (Ind) 21-17, 21-19
Sun Yu (Chn) beat Busanan Ongbumrungphan (Tha) 21-10, 21-17
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Women’s doubles
Huang Dongping-Zhong Qianxin (Chn) beat Chang Ye-na-Lee So-hee (Kor) 21-19, 21-19
Luo Ying-Luo Yu (Chn) beat Jwala Gutta-Ashwini Ponappa (Ind) 21-11, 21-14
Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan (Chn) beat Tiara Rosalia Nuraidah-Rizki Amelia Pradipta (Ina) 11-21, 21-12, 21-9
Della Destiara Haris-Rosyita Eka Putri Sari (Ina) beat Yuki Fukushima-Sayaka Hirota (Jpn) 12-21, 25-23, 21-18
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Mixed doubles
Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying (Mas) beat He Jiting-Du Yue (Chn) 21-17, 21-17
Xu Chen-Ma Jin (Chn) beat Huang Kaixiang-Huang Dongping (Chn) 21-12, 21-13
Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino (Jpn) beat Terry Hee Yong Kai-Tan Wei Han (Sin) 13-21, 21-16, 21-17
Zheng Siwei-Chen Qingchen (Chn) beat Lu Kai-Huang Yaqiong (Chn) 21-12. 17-21, 22-20
