Former World Number One Marches into Finals at Skycity Open

Former World Number One Marches into Finals at Skycity NZ Open

Former world number one Lee Hyun Il in his semi-final win. Credit: James Hirata /SKYCITY NZ Open

Badminton ‘royalty’ will headline the finals of the SKYCITY New Zealand Badminton Open on Sunday at the North Shore Events Centre, with former world number one and two-time Olympic Games semi-finalist Lee Hyun Il (Korea) turning on a clinic in his semi-final win over top seed Hsu Jen Hao (Taipei).

One of the oldest players on the BWF circuit, Lee Hyun is constantly reminded he is 35 years old and is often giving up 15 years to his opponents, although such comments don’t concern the Korean.

“I get told ‘You’re too old, how can you still be playing and getting those scores?’ all the time. I just maintain my fitness. I’m training hard and I never drink, never smoke. I’m just training all the time – in the morning, in the afternoon. You can’t imagine how hard I train in a week.”

There was no fear at all going into the match he won 21-13, 21-6, not surprising for a man who was once on top of the world and has played in two Olympic Games semi-finals.

“My opponent today is physically smaller than anyone else out of the badminton players and his speed is not fast enough. He is slower and needs more control. I wasn’t intimidated by him being the top seed because I know how he works, I recognise his strategies.”

Lee Hyun will play 25 year old Chinese star Qiao Bin in the final after he came through a tough three-game match against 7th seed Boonsak Ponsana (Thailand). Bin is unseeded and has removed four seeded players on his way to the final and will present worthy opposition to Lee Hyun.

The women’s singles final will be played out between another of the young Chinese team in 18 year old He Bing Jiao and Japanese qualifier Saena Kawakami.

He Bing Jiao was too strong of for Aya Ohori (Japan) in a one-sided semi-final, winning 21-17, 21-15, never allowing the 8th seed into the match. Jiao found the game easier than she expected, which helps her to feel positive about the final tomorrow.

“I tried playing with a positive mindset but I was feeling a bit nervous. Tomorrow, I’m going relax more, chill out and just treat it like any match.”

Kawakami has been the surprise package of the tournament and took control of her match with Cheung Ngan Yi (Hong Kong), forcing the 5th seed into uncharacteristic mistakes in the first game before the Hong Kong China player leveled it up in the second and looked to have the momentum back before Kawakami cleared out in the third to claim the victory.

Japan will play China in the final of the women’s doubles, pitting the number 3 seeded pair of Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota (JPN) against the number 4 seeded Huan Xia and Zhong Qianxing (CHN) in what promises to be a very even affair on Sunday at the North Shore Events Centre.

Japan was always going to feature in the final given an all Japan semi-final, won in a close but straight games battle by Fukushima and Hirota over Shiho Tanaka and Koharu Yonemoto, 21-18 21-15.

Huang and Zhong were impressive in a straight games win in their semi-final over Komala Dewi and Vita Marissa (Indonesia), in control throughout the Chinese pair had all the answers in a 21-14 21-11 victory that took just 33 minutes, leaving them fresh for tomorrow’s final.

The men’s doubles is always a thrill for the crowds and kept the large crowd in their seats right to the end, with chants for Indonesia and Malaysia as the final place in Sunday’s finals was up for grabs.

And it was the Indonesians that won through, at least in one semi-final, with the 7th seeds Fajar Alfian and Rian Ardianto upsetting the 6th seeds from Malaysia Thien How Hoon and Khim Wah Lim 21-15 21-18.

Rian Ardianto said they were always confident they could win.

“We won this match thanks to our very good preparation from last night, we were ready to play. The match was very tight and we had to stay focused all the time. We try very hard to stay together on court and today went well.”

The earlier semi-final went the way of the young Chinese team that has played so well right through the week, with Huang Kaixiang and Zheng Si Wei putting aside reputations to defeat former Olympic champion Markis Kido and Agripinna Putra (Indonesia) 21-7, 21-16.

Huang spoke like a young player without a care in the world and dismissed any talk of nerves against their more credentialed opponents.

“The game went well for us, we had no nerves even playing against the Olympic champion, we are just here to learn so we were not nervous at all. Again, for the final we are not nervous, once we are in the final we are not worried, we are confident of course.”

Huang spoke of their main asset going into the final, against a combination that they have never faced before.

“Speed is our biggest strength, around the court we are very fast.”

It will be an all People’s Republic of China final in the mixed doubles after today’s semi-finals were won in impressive fashion by the teams from China. And in both cases the results can be called upsets, with higher seeded opponents beaten by the Chinese.

The first to suffer were former Olympic gold medalist Markis Kido and partner Pia Bernadeth (Indonesia), the brother and sister 3rd seeds were never really in the match, unable to find any rhythm against the impressive young Chinese combination of Yu Xiaoyu and Huan Xia, going down 21-15, 21-13.

Indeed the winners felt it was youth that played a big part in their win.

“Our opposition had lots of experience on their side. We’re a lot younger so I think that’s why we overcame the challenges they gave us,” said Xiaoyu.

The more reserved Yu Xiaoyu and Huan Xia (CHN) belied an inner calmness in their all fluoro-pink uniforms. They took an early advantage and maintained a steady lead throughout the match.

The pair plan to use this winning strategy of calmness in tomorrow’s final.

“We’ll just keep a cool mind like today and learn from the opposition tomorrow; we don’t know who that will be yet because their game’s still going,” said Xia. “We haven’t actually thought about the end result. We will just get every point we can and learn from every step along the way.”

They didn’t have long to wait to discover that it would indeed be their compatriots facing off in Sunday’sfinal, as Chen Qingchen and Zheng Si Wei (China) continued their giant killing run to progress to the final and make it an all-China affair, tipping out the top seeds Riky Widianto and Puspita Dili (Indonesia) in three games, 21-18, 20-22, 21-11.

“We were a bit rushed in the second game, the defence from the opponent in the second game was very good, at the end of the second game we were too rushed to win and lost some points, we settled down in the next game though,” said Zheng.

The Indonesians clearly lost focus in the third game, with Widianto picking up a yellow and then red card in quick succession for misconduct, losing a point and in effect any chance in the match at 10-17.

Play commences at the North Shore Events Centre in finals at midday, tickets available on the door from 11am.

Sky City New Zealand Open 2015
Semi Finals
Men’s Singles: Lee Hyun Il (KOR) def Hsu Jen Hao (TPE) 21-13, 21-6; Qiao Bin (CHN) def Boonsak Ponsana (THA) 21-18, 16-21, 21-10

Women’s Singles: Saena Kawakami (JPN) def Cheung Ngan Yi (HKG) 21-15, 15-21, 21-15; He Bing Jiao (CHN) def Aya Ohori (JPN) 21-17, 21-15

Men’s Doubles: F Alfian/ M Ardianto (INA) def T H Hoon/ K W Lim (MAS) 21-15, 21-18; Huang K/Zheng S (CHN) def M Kido/A Putra (INA) 21-7, 21-16

Women’s Doubles: Xia H/Zhong Q(CHN) def Dewi/V Marissa (INA) 21-14, 21-11; Y Fukushima/S Hirota (JPN) def S Tanaka/K Yonemoto (JPN) 21-18, 21-15

Mixed Doubles: Zheng S/Chen Q (CHN) def R Widianto / P Dili (INA) 21-18, 20-22, 21-11: Yu X/XHuan X (CHN) def M Kido/P Bernadeth (INA) 21-15, 21-13

SKYCITY NZ Open

Date: April 28 to May 3

Prize money: USD$120,000

Venue: North Shore Events Centre

TV broadcast: Sky Sport NZ and globally through IMG to over 50 countries and an estimated viewing audience of 220 million

Sponsors: SKYCITY, One Pure – official water supplier, X-TRM – official equipment and apparel supplier, ATEED

Website: www.nzbadmintonopen.com

ENDS

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