JAn 8th TheStar BASEL: Chan Chong Ming-Koo Kien Keat breezed into the men's doubles final but it was the top women doubles pair of Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty who stole the show in the Swiss Open badminton championships. Yesterday, Chong Ming-Kien Keat were handed their second consecutive walkovers in two days. China's Sang Yang-Zheng Bo conceded the match while trailing 1-15, 0-4 in the semi-finals due to an injury to the former. In the quarter-finals on Friday, Chong Ming-Kien Keat did not raise their racquets after Denmark's Thomas Laybourn-Lars Paaske conceded a walkover. Eei Hui-Pei Tty however, continued their strong showing in international tournaments when they created another first en route to reaching the semi-finals of the women's doubles event. On Friday, the Manila SEA Games gold medallists defeated Holland’s former world number four pair Mia Audina-Lotte Bruil 15-12, 5-15, 15- 12 in the quarter-finals. It was their first win in four meetings over the Holland pair. The Malaysians, ranked seventh in the world, take on second seeds Du Jing-Yu Yang of China in the semi-finals. “The last time we played them was at the Holland Open final (in October last year). We lost. They are unseeded here because Lotte took a short break early last year but it is a great feeling to finally beat them,” said the 25- year-old Pei Tty in a telephone interview from Switzerland. “In the last three meetings, we lost to them in straight games. We were trailing 4-11 in the rubber game but, fortunately, we changed our rhythm of play and our opponents made quite a number of mistakes. This win is certainly an achievement for us.” Last year, Eei Hui-Pei Tty became the first women’s pair to reach the final of a major Open tournament at the Indonesian Open. They also helped Malaysia regain a place in the Division One of the Sudirman Cup. They were also the first pair to beat a top ranked Chinese in an international tournament – China’s number three Wei Yili-Zhao Tingting – to reach the quarter-finals of the Singapore Open last year. On their chances against Du Jing- Yu Yang, Pei Tty said: “The Chinese are the favourites. We lost to them at the French Open (semi-finals) but gained revenge at the German Open last year. We will try our best.” In the men’s singles, national number one Lee Chong Wei is determined to live up to his top billing in the Swiss Open. On Friday, he defeated Denmark’s Neils Christian Kaldau 15-3, 15-11 to set-up a semi-final date with teammate Wong Choong Hann, who had upset the world number five Lee Hyun-il of South Korea 15-12, 15-7 in another quarter-final match. Said Chong Wei: “I intend to keep my unbeaten record against Choong Hann. “My foot still hurts (he had injured his foot in training prior to the Swiss Open) but I am glad that we have a team doctor to look after me.” The other men’s singles semifinals will be between Peter Gade- Christensen of Denmark and former world champion Xia Xuanze of China. Quarter-Final Results (Malaysians unless stated) Men’s singles: Lee Chong Wei bt Niels Christian Kaldau (Den) 15-3, 15-11; Wong Choong Hann bt Lee Hyun-il (Kor) 15-12, 15-7; Peter Gade-Christensen (Den) bt Kuan Beng Hong 15-6, 15-5; Xia Xuanze (Chn) bt Shon Seung-mo (Kor) 15-3, 15-5. Men’s doubles: Chan Chong Ming-Koo Kien Keat w.o. Lars Paaske-Thomas Laybourn (Den); Mathias Boe-Carsten Morgensen (Den) bt Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Lin Woon Fui 15-12, 15-5; Sang Yang-Zheng Bo (Chn) bt Michal Logosz-Robert Mateusiak (Pol) 15-6, 15-14; Jung Jae-sung-Lee Dong-dae (Kor) bt Jonas Rasmussen-Peter Steffensen (Den) 15-9, 15-13. Women’s singles: Mia Audina (Ned) bt Lee Hyun-jin (Kor) 11-2, 11-5; Zhu Lin (Chn) bt Seo Yoon-hee (Kor) 11-7, 11-5; Xu Huaiwen (Ger) bt Wang Lin (Chn) 11-6, 11-8; Pi Hongyan (Fra) bt Juliane Schenk (Ger) 11-8, 11-6. Women’s doubles: Lee Hyo-jung-Lee Kyung-won (Kor) bt Mette Scholdager-Britta Andersen (Den) 15-7, 15-5; Du Jing-YuYang (Chn) bt Chien Yu-chin-Cheng Wen-hsing (Tpe) 11-15, 156, 15-8; Zhang Dan-Zhao Tingting (Chn) bt Kamila Augustyn-Nadiezda Kostiuczyk (Pol) 15-5, 15-1; Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty bt Mia Audina-Lotte Bruil (Ned) 15-12, 5-15, 15-12. Mixed doubles: Zheng Bo-Zhao Tingting (Chn) bt Robert Mateusiak-Nadiezda Kostiuczyk (Pol) 17-14, 15-5; Nathan Robertson-Gail Emms (Eng) bt Lee Yong-dae-Hwang Yu-mi (Kor) 15-3, 15-6; Anthony Clark-Donna Kellogg (Eng) bt Lee Hyo-jung-Lee Jae-jin (Kor) 10-15, 17-16, 17-15; Robert Blair-Natalie Munt (Eng) bt Kristian Roebuck-Jenny Wallwork (Eng) 15-0, 15-12.
