Hanoi: Malaysia’s independent badminton player Goh Giap Chin was forced to dig deep in two matches on Saturday to advance to the Vietnam International Challenge final.
The 24-year-old former Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) player, was made to work hard for a victory in the quarter-finals on Saturday morning, coming from a set down to beat former BAM teammate Chong Yee Han 24-22, 17-21, 21-13 in a one-hour battle.
Goh then got back to the court Saturday evening to play Wisnu Yuli Prasetyo of Indonesia in the semi-finals. The No. 11 seed got off to a slow start but eventually fought his way out of trouble by literally ran Prasetyo off his feet to record a 15-21, 21-19, 21-12 win in 60 minutes. Goh will set up the final encounter with former World No. 2 and the No. 1 seed Kento Momota of Japan on Sunday.
In contrast, Momota has sailed through his two matches in Hanoi without any sign of a physical problem and without dropping a set. Momota defeated Chi Yu Jen of Taiwan 21-15, 21-10 in the quarter-finals before outlasted Krishna Adi Nugraha of Indonesia 21-12, 21-14.
Besides Goh Giap Chin, two other Malaysian pairs Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik (men’s doubles), and Chow Mei Kuan/Vivian Hoo also advanced to the final.
The No. 6 seeds Chia/Soh will meet No. 5 seeds Maneepong Jongjit/Nanthakarn Yordphaisong of Thailand on Sunday while the No. 5 seeds Chow/Hoo are set to face No. 2 seeds Baek Ha Na/Lee Yu Rim of Korea in the women’s doubles final.
