Orleans: Men’s doubles unseeded pair Shia Chun Kang/Tan Wee Gieen of Malaysia were made to work by Indonesian pair Akbar Bintang Cahyono/Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani as they eked out a three-setter victory 21-14, 13-21, 21-16 in the semi-final of Orleans Masters on Saturday.
Shia/Tan are set to play No. 3 seeds Mark Lamsfuss/Marvin Emil Seidel of Germany in the final.
Men’s top seed Sameer Verma of India however suffered a huge upset, as he was defeated by No. 4 seed Mark Caljouw of Netherlands 21-18, 13-21, 12-21 in 57 minutes.
Caljouw will play No. 3 seed Rasmus Gemke of Denmark for the men’s singles crown on Sunday.
Rasmus Gemke was also pushed to the limit by his French opponent, before holding his nerve to fight back from 12-16, and 17-19 in the decider to rally past unseeded Lucas Claerbout of France in a three-set battle 15-21, 21-17, 22-20 in 83 minutes.
The 20-year-old Shiori Saito of Japan continue her hot form at the Orleans Masters, overcame a spirited challenge from Qi Xuefei of China 21-10, 18-21, 21-14 to set up a final showdown with No. 2 seed Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark.
Meanwhile, top seeded Gabriela Stoeva/Stefani Stoeva of Bulgaria will play Delphine Delrue/Lea Palermo of France in the women’s doubles final while Niclas Nohr/Sara Thygesen of Denmark face Peter Kaesbauer/Olga Konon of Germany in the mixed doubles final.
