Top-ranked Lee Chong Wei cruises into final of Hong Kong Open
World number one Lee Chong Wei looks set to take his third men’s singles title in Hong Kong after storming into the final of the US$350,000 Yonex-Sunrise Hong Kong Open badminton tournament.
The Malaysian ace showed tremendous form at Hong Kong Coliseum on Saturday, spending only 34 minutes to brush aside Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand 21-12, 21-7 and set up a final against Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia.
Sony also had an easy win after compatriot Tommy Sugiarto, the fifth seed, withdrew in the second game with a toe injury.
“The Hong Kong Open is very important as I have got a lot of support from the fans. I don’t want to let them down,” said Lee. “It’s nice to be in the final and all I need to do now is to keep focused.”
Lee said he was not surprised there were no mainlanders in the semi-finals.
“We are now in the final stages of the season and a lot of players are getting tired or even injured. It always happens,” he said.
In the women’s singles, third seed Wang Yihan of China came from behind to beat Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand, 17-21, 21-15, 21-13, and reach the final.
Up-and-coming Porntip beat Wang, London Olympic Games silver medallist, in the quarter-finals of last week’s China Open and also kicked defending champion and world number one Li Xuerui out of this event in the previous round.
“She has gained a lot of confidence after beating me and Li,” said Wang. “She is young but with explosive power like a men’s player. I knew it would be very difficult to handle her and prepared well. In the end, it worked my way.”
Wang will face compatriot Wang Shixian in Sunday’s final after the latter beat Minatsu Mitani of Japan 21-13, 21-17.
The women’s doubles final will also be an all-China affair, third seeds Bao Yixin and Tang Jinhua against Ou Dongni and Tang Yuanting.
Hong Kong’s mixed doubles pair Lee Chun-hei and Chau Hoi-wah missed out on a place in the final after losing to Liu Cheng and Bao Yixin of China 17-21, 21-10, 23-21. “We did not play very well today, but were delighted with the way we played in the big fightback in the last game,” said Chau.
