Vladivostock: Malaysia’s independent shuttlers and unseeded pair Mohamad Arif Ab Latif Arif/Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub Azriyn claimed a big scalp on Saturday by sending No. 1 seeds Vladimir Ivanov/Ivan Sozonov of Russia packing to reach the Russia Open final in Vladivostock.
Mohamad Arif/Nur Mohd Azriyn lost the first set to Vladimir Ivanov/Ivan Sozonov 16-21, but manage to force a decider by squeezing out a 21-19 win in the second.
The Malaysian pair was down 9-14 in the third set, but claw their way back to win the match with a 21-19 triumph in the last game. They are set to take on No. 2 seeds Konstantin Abramov/Alexandr Zinchenko of Russia in the final.
Konstantin Abramov/Alexandr Zinchenko defeated Arun George/Sanyam Shukla of India 21-15, 21-19 in the other semi-finals.
In the women’s singles competition, unseeded Ho Yen Mei needed only 37 minutes to see off No. 4 seed Yvonne Li of Germany 21-17, 21-15. She will take on Shiori Ebihara of Japan for the women’s crown on Sunday.
In an all-Malaysian women’s doubles semi-final, the No. 1 seeds Chow Mei Kuan/Lee Meng Yean fended off a spirited challenge from Lim Chiew Sien/Tan Sueh Jeou to progress to the final with a 21-19, 23-21 win. They will be playing against unseeded pair Chisato Hoshi/Kie Nakanishi of Japan in the final.
Despite leading at 18-14 in the decider, Malaysia’s Chen Tang Jie/Peck Yen Wei could finish the job by losing to No. 2 seeds Rohan Kapoor/Kuhoo Garg of India 19-21, 21-11, 20-22 in the mixed doubles semi-final.
