Jakarta: Both Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei are aiming to secure their first-ever Indonesia Masters title when they take on each other in the men’s singles final on Sunday.
Axelsen made clear his dominance on the badminton court when the World No. 1 eased past home favorite, the World No. 6 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia in the semi-final 21-15, 21-15 in 48 minutes.
After the match, Ginting told Indonesian media that he already tried his best, but Axelsen was just too hard to beat.
“I’ve tried everything, but Axelsen’s tall body gave him incredible reach for all my shots, and he was able to dictate my every move,” said Ginting.
For Chou, he had a much harder road in the semi-final before ultimately prevailing over the reigning World Champion from Singapore – Loh Kean Yew 21-16, 8-21, 21-19 in 70 minutes to advance to the final.
In men’s doubles, China’s World No. 424 Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang stunned the World No. 1 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia, needed only 33 minutes to beat “the Minions” 21-17, 21-10 to enter the final.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s World No. 7 Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto spoiled an all-Chinese men’s doubles final by defeating World No. 141 He Ji Ting/Zhou Hao Dong 21-17, 21-17.
“Thank god, we played well today. However, the job is not done yet, we have one more match tomorrow. Hopefully, we can perform consistently,” said Alfian.
When asked about their preparation for the final against Liang/Wang, both Alfian and Ardianto said they were aware of Liang/Wang’s playing style.
“They have a solid defense, yes, we’ll be prepared for a very tough match in the final,” said Ardianto.
