Boon HeongHendra reach men’s doubles semi-finals

PETALING JAYA: Former international Tan Boon Heong is the only Malaysian left standing in the Australian Open.

Boon Heong and his Indonesian partner Hendra Setiawan defeated Takuto Inoue-Yuki Kaneko of Japan 21-14, 21-12 to reach the men’s doubles semi-finals in Sydney yesterday.

The unseeded Japanese pair had beaten Malaysia’s Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong on the opening day on Wednesday.

Boon Heong-Hendra will take on China’s Liu Cheng-Zhang Nan today for a place in the final.

Unseeded Liu Cheng-Zhang Nan spoiled the day for Malaysia when they beat Teo Ee Yi-Ong Yew Sin 14-21, 21-12, 21-15 in a 58-minute quarter-final match.

Kuala Lumpur SEA Games-bound Ee Yi-Yew Sin played brilliantly in the opening game but could not sustain their form.

Still, it was a good showing from the country’s second ranked pair.

Boon Heong, who left the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) set-up in 2015, was happy to reach his first Superseries semi-finals with Hendra.

“This is our best result since I teamed up with Hendra this year. We were fortunate to have a good draw,” said the 29-year-old Boon Heong.

“We have a good chance to improve our world ranking and we don’t want to waste it.”

Boon Heong-Hendra are now ranked 30th in the world.

Malaysia’s Chan Peng Soon-Cheah Yee See, who are playing in their first international tournament together, crashed out 8-21, 17-21 to Indonesians Praveen Jordan-Debby Susanto in the mixed doubles quarter-finals yesterday.

In men’s singles, China’s Chen Long defeated compatriot Lin Dan 21-16, 12-21, 23-21 in a pulsating one-hour 18-minute match to the delight of the fans yesterday.

In today’s semi-finals, Chen Long will face Lee Hyun-il of South Korea while reigning Indonesian Open champion K. Srikanth of India will take on Shi Yuqi of China.