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