CHONG WEI GIVES HIS BOYS A TREAT BY MAKING JAPAN OPEN SEMI-FINALS
Chong Wei storms into semis in front of wife and two boys
KUALA LUMPUR: Lee Chong Wei will now have extra motivation to go for his sixth Japan Open title.
Both his sons – three-year-old Kingston and one-year-old Terrance – have joined him in Tokyo. This is the first time that his children will be present at an Open tournament their father is playing outside Malaysia.
The boys, together with mum Wong Mew Choo, were at the stands yesterday to watch Chong Wei storm into the men’s singles semi-finals by outplaying qualifier Shi Yuqi of China 21-12, 21-12 in 40 minutes.
The 33-year-old Chong Wei will take on Marc Zwiebler of Germany for a place in the final.
The other men’s singles semi-final will be between South Korean Son Wan-ho and Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark.
“I’m delighted to have my children in Japan. This is the first time they are outside of Malaysia to cheer me on,” said the three-time Olympic Games silver medallist.
“Mew Choo took them to Disneyland in Tokyo when I was not in action. I have to stay focused here and probably will join them after my job is done.”
Although pleased with his condition so far, Chong Wei said that he would not take the unpredictable Zwiebler lightly.
“I cannot let my guard down. I have two more rounds before I get my hands on the title again,” said Chong Wei, winner of the Japan Open in 2007, 2010 and from 2012-2014
Malaysia’s top mixed doubles pair of Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying, buoyed by their Olympic silver-medal feat in Rio de Janeiro, also marched confidently into the semi-finals.
Peng Soon-Liu Ying needed just 38 minutes to tame South Koreans Kim Gi-jung-Shin Seung-chan 21-17, 21-18 in the quarter-finals yesterday. They will take on top seeds Ko Sung-hyun-Kim Ha-na today.
“The Olympics have given us a lot of confidence ... we did not make many mistakes,” said Peng Soon. “We will face a tough test against another strong Korean pair tomorrow (today), but we’ll be ready.”
Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei almost made it a perfect day for Malaysia, but went down fighting 22-20, 21-23, 14-21 to Christinna Pedersen-Kamilla Rytter Juhl of Denmark in the women’s doubles quarter-finals.