Almere: Malaysia’s World No. 93 men’s singles shuttler Cheam June Wei was made to work hard, surviving a gritty Toma Junior Popov fightback to beat the French 19-21, 23-21, 21-10 in the Dutch Open semi-finals on Saturday.
After losing the first set, Cheam was on the brink of defeat when he was trailing 15-20 in the second set. The Malaysian shuttler then reeled off six consecutive points to take charge and to force the decider.
The third set was a one-sided affair, where Cheam defeated the French player 21-10 to wrap up the semi-final match.
Cheam will take on Sourabh Verma of India in the final.
Sourabh Verma on the other hand, overcame the No. 1 seed, 23-year-old Mark Caljouw easily with a 21-18, 21-19 victory.
Just like last year, Mark Caljouw was once again stranded in the semi-finals of the Dutch Open.
In the women’s competition, No. 1 seed Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark will play Qi Xuefei of China for the women’s crown.
Home players, Jelle Maas and Robin Tabeling have advanced to the men’s doubles final as they outlasted Mathias Bay-Smidt/Lasse Molhede of Denmark 21-18, 21-16 in the semifinal. The No. 5 seeds Dutch pair will battle No. 2 seeds Wahyu Nayaka Arya Pangkaryanira/Ade Yusuf Santoso of Indonesia on Sunday.
