Odense: Viktor Axelsen and Chen Long will meet at Denmark Open for the first time since the 2015 Denmark Open semi-finals after both advanced to the last four on Friday.
Axelsen beat compatriot Anders Antonsen 24-22, 21-12 for his first semi-final appearance after coming back from persistent back and leg pain since July this year, while Chen Long beat Chou Tien Chen 21-17, 21-17 in the quarter-finals.
World No. 1 Kento Momota of Japan will take on Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia in another men’s singles semi-final.
In mixed doubles, Malaysia’s Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying were no match for Seo Seung Jae/Chae Yujung of Korea, losing 18-21, 18-21 to the Korean pair in 46 minutes. Seo/Chae will face No. 2 seeds Wang Yi Lyu/Huang Dong Ping of China on Saturday.
Meanwhile, mixed doubles No. 6 seeds Praveen Jordan/Melati Daeva Oktavianti of Indonesia fended off a fierce comeback from No. 1 seeds Zheng Siwei/Huang Ya Qiong in the decider, shocking the World Champions 21-18, 16-21, 20-22 in 55 minutes. Jordan/Oktavianti will play Wang Chi-lin/Cheng Chi Ya of Taiwan next.
The women’s singles competition saw Rio Olympic champion Carolina Marin overcame a spirited challenge from 17-year-old Korean youngster An Se Young 18-21, 21-19, 21-18 to enter the semi-finals. Marin will face Nozomi Okuhara in the semi-final while Taiwanese player Tai Tzu Ying will face Chen Yufei of China in another last four match.
If men’s pair No. 1 seeds Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo and No. 2 seeds Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan could see off their respective opponents in the final four, they will be facing each other in their fifth final battle of the year. Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo have previously walked away victorious against Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan in the final of 2019 China Open, final of 2019 Japan Open, final of 2019 Indonesia Open, and final of 2019 Indonesia Masters.
