Tokyo: Malaysian World No. 1 badminton superstar Lee Chong Wei scorched into his eighth Japan Open final as he produced a great match to beat 15th ranked Marc Zwiebler of Germany in the semi-final of the Yonex Open Japan on Saturday.
Lee who is bidding for a record sixth Japan Open title took only 42 minutes to secure a 21-14 and 21-15 win over Zwiebler in Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
The 33-year-old Lee who claimed the Japanese trophy in 2014, 2013, 2012, 2010, and 2007, will play No. 3 seed Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark in the final after the Dane defeated Son Wan Ho of South Korea 21-14 and 21-19 in the other semifinal match.
In mixed doubles competition, Olympic silver medalists – Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying of Malaysia were far too passive to allow No. 1 seeds Ko Sung Hyun/Kim Ha Na of South Korea to take control of the point and dictate play throughout the whole match, losing 14-21 and 18-21 in 36 minutes.
Ko/Kim are set to play Zheng Siwei/Chen Qingchen of China in the final after the Chinese pair shocked their seniors, No. 6 seeds Lu Kai/Huang Yaqiong 21-11 and 21-19.
In men’s doubles, the young pair of Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen from China staged a miraculous fightback to reach the Japan Open final, stunning No. 2 seeds Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia 21-13, 18-21, 21-15 in 49 minutes. They will play scratch pair and No. 7 seeds Kim Gi Jung/Ko Sung Hyun of Korea in the final.
The Japan Open Super Series offers total prize money of US$300,000.
