Barcelona: Former World No. 1 men’s doubles player Lee Yong Dae of Korea has came out of retirement to partner Kim Gi Jung at Barcelona Spain Masters, getting just one match away from their first international title in nearly two years.
Lee Yong Dae/Kim Gi Jung marched into the Barcelona Spain Masters final by battling past Malaysians Chen Tang Jie/Man Wei Chong 21-11, 21-17 in 34 minutes.
Lee/Kim will take on Bodin Isara/Maneepong Jongjit of Thailand on Sunday.
Facing off against No. 4 seeds Niclas Nohr/Sara Thygesen of Denmark, Chen Tang Jie who also played in the mixed doubles event with Yen Wei Peck, lost to the Denmark duo 10-21, 18-21 in 37 minutes.
Nohr/Thygesen will fight No. 1 seeds Marcus Ellis/Lauren Smith of England in the final.
Meanwhile, the men’s singles No. 1 seed Suppanyu Avihingsanon from Thailand outlasted No. 5 seed Yu Igarashi of Japan 21-11, 21-15 to set up a final encounter with No. 2 seed Rasmus Gemke of Denmark.
Igarashi pulled off an upset on Friday when he knocked out No. 4 seed Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark 21-10, 21-13.
