Lee in red-hot form
Chong Wei beats Kenichi to book a spot in Hong Kong Open final
PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei continued his red-hot form in Kowloon as he beat Japan’s Kenichi Tago to book his place in the men’s singles final of the Hong Kong Open.
The top seed easily won 21-19, 21-15 in 45 minutes to set up a clash with world No. 2 and second seed Chen Long of China who beat Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto 21-18, 21-10 in the other semi-final.
This marks Chong Wei’s fifth appearance in a Super Series final this season. And after scoring wins at the Denmark Open, Japan Open, Malaysia Open and Korea Open, a win in Hong Kong will crown him king of the Super Series.
But national singles coach Rashid Sidek chose to play down Chong Wei’s chances against Chen Long.
Rashid said Chong Wei faces a difficult task against his younger rival.
“He had a tough first game against Kenichi but managed to turn the tie around by increasing the pace and utilising his smashes. He didn’t have much problem in the second game and controlled it till the end,” said Rashid in a telephone interview from Hong Kong.
“Chong Wei is a little under-prepared, with his wedding and all. I think it’s going to be a very tough match which could go either way,” he cautioned.
World No. 2 Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong made short work of Taiwan’s Lee Sheng-mu-Tsai Chiahsin to book their place in the men’s doubles final.
Kien Keat-Boon Heong took just 37 minutes to win 22-20, 21-13 and will face their London Olympics conquerors Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng of China, who beat compatriots Liu Xiaolong-Qiu Zihan 18-21, 21-17, 21-16.
This will be the Malaysian pair’s third appearance in a Super Series final after the Denmark Open and Japan Open and national doubles coach Tan Kim Her hopes the duo will end their long title drought with victory today.
But it is not going to easy as Cai-Fu hold a 10-4 win record against the Malaysians.
“This is their third Super Series final since the Olympics. I hope they win and prove that they are still a formidable pair,” said Kim Her.
In the mixed doubles, top Malaysian pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying failed to make the final, falling to China’s top seeds Xu Chen-Ma Jin 1621, 18-21 in a late match yesterday.