One left in Tokyo

Lee Chong Wei in Japan Open final.

KUALA LUMPUR: Again, it’s Lee Chong Wei (pic) who will be carrying Malaysia’s hopes of a title in a badminton tournament.

While Chong Wei is just one step away from winning his sixth Japan Open title, it is all over for mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying.

The 33-year-old Chong Wei oozed class in his 21-14, 21-15 win over Germany’s Marc Zwiebler in the men’s singles semi-finals in Tokyo yesterday.

The world No. 1 will take on world No. 5 Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark in the final today, with three-time Olympic Games silver medallist Chong Wei having lost just once to Jorgensen in 17 meetings.

Chong Wei said: “I have a good record, but I will not take Jorgensen lightly.

“I will be more focused on my game plan. This is my first tournament since the Olympic Games and I’m happy that I’ve maintained my form to reach the final here ... I feel good about that.

“I will go all out to win my sixth Japan Open title – that’s my promise.”

As for him being the sole Malaysian challenger in a final yet again, Chong Wei said: “I’m used to being alone in finals, but all this will surely change. We saw that during the Olympic Games. It’s unfortunate that the others lost, but I’m confident they will bounce back.”

He is optimistic that the other Olympic silver medallists – men’s doubles pair Goh V ShemTan Wee Kiong and Peng Soon-Liu Ying will be more consistent in future international tournaments.

V Shem-Wee Kiong crashed out in the second round on Thursday while Peng Soon-Liu Ying went down 21-14, 21-18 to top seeds Ko Sung-hyun-Kim Ha-na of South Korea in the semi-finals yesterday.

Peng Soon admitted that their game fell apart in the semi-final.

“Liu Ying and I did not have the right touches today. Most of our shots were weak ... we just made too many mistakes,” lamented Peng Soon.

“Ko and Kim were in their elements and put so much pressure on us. We lost to a better pair today, but it is all right. We’ll try to regain our form at the Korean Open next week.”

China showed that they have able hands to take over from their struggling seniors in the women’s singles when Sun Yu set up an all-China final against He Bingjiao.

Sun Yu defeated Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 21-17, 21-18 while Bingjiao fought hard to beat Aya Ohori 21-17, 22-20 to make it a grand day for China.