In the mood for revenge

Kian Meng-Pei Jing out to settle a score with Olympic champions

JAYA: Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing will try to settle a score with Olympic champions Tontowi Ahmad-Liliyana Natsir at the Australian Open in Sydney next week.

On Thursday, unseeded Kian Meng-Pei Jing went down fighting 18-21, 16-21 to the Indonesians in a 46-minute mixed doubles quarter-final clash of the Indonesian Open at the Jakarta Convention Centre on Friday.

The Malaysian shuttlers will get a quick chance for revenge when they meet again, this time in the first round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.

“Kian Meng and I faced the Olympic champions for the first time in Jakarta. They played with the right attitude and spirit,” said Pei Jing.

“They were fighting for every point whether they were leading or trailing. Both of them have just recovered from injuries.

“They’re not as fast as before but they’re still good with their service and front shots.

“Tontowi won most of the points through his impeccable service.

“We’ll be meeting them again soon and we want to give them a much better fight and, hopefully, win this time,” added Pei Jing.

Tontowi-Liliyana continued their fine run to reach the final, beating another Malaysian pair – Chan Peng Soon-Peck Yen Wei 21-13, 21-14 in yesterday’s semi-finals.

Meanwhile, India enjoyed contrasting fortunes in the men’s singles semi-finals in Jakarta with H.S. Prannoy crashing out and leaving K. Srikanth to carry the torch.

The 24-year-old Prannoy went down 21-17, 26-28, 18-21 to 27-year-old qualifier Kazumasa Sakai of Japan in an energy-sapping 76-minute clash. Prannoy had earlier made heads turn by upsetting Malaysian Lee Chong Wei and Chen Long of China en route to the semi-finals.

World No. 47 Sakai will take on unseeded Srikanth in today’s final. Srikanth pulled off an upset, beating second seed Son Wan-ho of South Korea 21-15, 13-21, 21-11 in 72 minutes.