Wong sets up clash with Gade Christensen

Wong sets up clash with Gade Christensen

TOKYO (AFP): Wong Choong Hann outclassed Marleve Mainaky on
Friday to set up a semifinal meeting against reigning world
number one Peter Gade Christensen in the Japan Open badminton
tournament.

The 1998 Commonwealth Games champion from Malaysia, who
shocked world number three Budi Santoso on Thursday, claimed
another big Indonesian scalp with his 15-12, 15-11 win in the
men's quarterfinals.

Denmark's Gade Christensen, fresh from his victory at the All
England last month, made quick work for a third day in a row by
beating Johan Hadikusuma of Indonesia 15-2, 15-4.

The other semifinal will be an all-Chinese affair between
Grand Prix Final winner Sun Jun and French Open champion Chen
Hong.

Fourth-seeded Sun Jun recovered to beat Ong Ewe Hock of
Malaysia 11-15, 15-4, 15-3. Chen saw off current world champion
Peter Rasmussen of Denmark 17-14, 12-15, 15-13.

"I played even better than I did in the All England, so I'm
very satisfied with my play," said Gade Christensen after his 28-
minute match.

"It's sure that the practice I made towards the world
championships and this tournament is working very well. I moved a
little bit faster than him and I also see where he put the
shuttle.

"Everything I was doing was working. When I'm playing like
this, it's very difficult for him, because I have so many shots
to choose between. That's my advantage," said the 22-year-old
Dane.

"I know Wong very well. I haven't lost to him yet but still
he's become much better than he used to be.

"I have to play at the same level I did today. If I do that, I
can win, but I have to play very fast and very strong," added
Gade Christensen.

Gade Christensen has a 2-0 record over Wong. He scored a two-
game win in their last encounter in the round of 16 at the Hong
Kong Open in November.

Meanwhile, South Korea's Kim Ji-hyun gatecrashed China's Japan
Open party here Friday, scoring an upset victory over world
number five Zhou Mi to become the only non-Chinese player left in
the women's singles semifinals.

The 24-year-old from Pusan, ranked 41st in the world, needed a
tough 74 minutes to score a 3-11, 13-11, 11-8 win over the French
Open champion, fourth seed here.

But elsewhere it was a story of Chinese domination, with the
three other semifinal berths all going to Chinese players.

Defending champion Gong Zhichao, seventh seed, needed only 22
minutes to beat Japan's Satomi Igawa 11-4, 11-3 for a place
against Kim.

World champion Ye Zhaoying was stretched to the distance by
fellow Chinese Zhang Ning before scoring an 11-6, 7-11, 11-7
victory, while Gong Ruina overcame a bad cold to beat Japan's
Yasuko Mizui 11-0, 11-6.

Results

Men's singles:
Peter Gade Christensen (Den) bt Johan Hadikusuma (Ina) 15-2, 15-4
Wong Choong Hann (Mas) bt Marleve Mainaky (Ina) 15-12, 15-11
Sun Jun (Chn) bt Ong Ewe Hock (Mas) 11-15, 15-4, 15-3
Chen Hong (Chn) bt Peter Rasmussen (Den) 17-14, 12-15, 15-13

Men's doubles:
Tony Gunawan/Candra Wijaya (Ina) bt Liu Yong/Chen Qiqiu (Chn) 15-
2, 15-5
Kim Dong-moon/Ha Tae-kwon (Kor) bt Simon Archer/Nathan Robertson
(Eng) 15-5, 15-4
Lee Dong-soo/Yoo Yong-sung (Kor) bt Zhang Jun/Zhang Wei (Chn) 15-
6, 15-12
Antonius/Denny Kantono (Ina) bt Chan Chong Ming/Jeremy Gan (Mas)
15-6, 15-3

Women's singles:
Gong Zhichao (Chn) bt Satomi Igawa (Jpn) 11-4, 11-3
Kim Ji-hyun (Kor) bt Zhou Mi (Chn) 3-11, 13-11, 11-8
Ye Zhaoying (Chn) bt Zhang Ning (Chn) 11-6, 7-11, 11-7
Gong Ruina (Chn) bt Yasuko Mizui (Jpn) 11-0, 11-6

Women's doubles:
Yang Wei/Huang Nanyan (Chn) bt Sujitra Ekmongkolpaisarn/Saralee
Thungthongkam (Tha) 15-4, 15-8
Ra Kyung-Min/Chung Jae-Hee (Kor) bt Etty Tantri/Cinthia
Tuwankotta (Ina) 15-10, 15-7
Zhou Mi/Gong Ruina (Chn) bt Naomi Murakami/Hiromi Yamada (Jpn)
15-12, 15-5
Ge Fei/Gu Jun (Chn) bt Naomi Kawaguchi/Yumi Akashi (Jpn) 15-3,
15-5

Mixed doubles:
Kim Dong-moon/Ra Kyng-min (Kor) bt Bambang Suprianto/Minarti
Timur (Ina) 15-10, 15-2
Liu Yong/Ge Fei (Chn) bt Jung Sung-gyun/Jun Woul-sik (Kor) 15-0,
15-6
Ha Tae-kwon/Chung Jae-hee (Kor) bt Imam Tohari/Vita Marisa (Ina)
15-9, 15-9
Zhang Jun/Yang Wei (Chn) bt Wahyu Agung/Ema Ermawati (Ina) 15-5,
15-11