Indonesian pairs meet in doubles final at Japan Open

Damar Harsanto ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 09/21/2008 9:49 AM  |  Sports

Indonesia has ensured it will claim the mixed doubles title at the US$200,000 Japan Open as the final showdown will feature top seed Nova Widianto and Lilyana Natsir against compatriots Muhammad Rijal and Vita Marissa.

Nova and Lilyana -- who won back-to-back world championships in 2006 and 2007 while capturing silver medals at the Beijing Olympics last month -- used their experience in the majors to edge Korean semifinalist duo Yoo Yeon Seong and Kim Min Jung, winning 19-21, 21-17, 21-18.

In the finals, the world No. 1 and top seeded in Indonesia will be challenged by Muhammad Rijal, who has a new partner Vita Marissa. Rijal and Vita, seeded fifth here, trounced the Thai pair of Songphon Anugritayawon and Kunchala Voravichitchaikul, 22-20, 21-18 in the semifinals.

Indonesia has also secured two more final berths in the men's singles and doubles with Sony Dwi Kuncoro and pair Muhammad Ahsan and Bona Septano respectively winning their semifinal matches.

World no. 6 Sony thrashed local hero Kenichi Tago of Japan 21-15, 21-16 to earn a ticket to the finals.

Sony will face tougher competition in Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, top seeded here, who outclassed Joachim Persson of Denmark 21-6, 21-4 to cruise to the finals.

The final clash is important for both Sony and Lee.

Sony, whose best feat was as world championship runner-up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last year, has been on a rollercoaster ride in recent tournaments. Sony humbled Lee in front of his hometown fans, but slumped in later tourneys. Sony has been struggling to crawl his way out of the shadow of the more illustrious 2004 Athens Olympics gold medalist and 2005 world champ Taufik Hidayat to become the country's No. 1. He fell to Lee in their last match at the Olympics quarterfinals in Beijing.

"I'm glad I proved my potential by reaching the finals after putting in a poor performance at the Olympics," said the 24-year-old, who won a bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

"I don't plan to change anything for the finals. I just want to focus on what I have to do on the court," he was quoted as saying by AFP.

For world No. 1 and defending champ Lee, the tournament was important step in regaining his confidence after a bitter Olympics final loss to Lin Dan of China, who won back-to-back world championships in 2006 and 2007 as well as a Beijing Olympic gold last month.

"Sony is an offensive player. I need to be tight on my defense, including on receives," Lee said of his would-be opponent.

In men's doubles, Muhammad Ahsan and Bona Septano of Indonesia defeated teammates Yonatan Suryatama Dasuki and Rian Sukmawan 21-16, 21-19 to reach the finals.

Ahsan and Bona, the junior pair in the national team, will challenge evergreen Danish duo Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen, second seeded here. The 2006 world champions Paaske and Rasmussen whipped Japanese fourth seeds Keita Masuda/Tadashi Ohtsuka 21-17, 21-16.

In women's singles, old hand Zhou Mi -- the 2004 Athens Olympic bronze medalist now playing for Hong Kong -- outsmarted top seed and world No. 2 Lu Lan of China 9-21, 21-13, 21-13 to reach the women's final. She set up a final clash with Wang Yihan of China. Wang coasted to a 21-15, 21-18 win over defending champion and All England champ, Tine Rasmussen of Denmark.

Women's doubles finals will feature Chinese pair Cheng Shu and Zhao Yunlei and Malaysia's Chin Eei Hui and Wong Pei Tty.

The Chinese duo beat Japan's top seeds Miyuki Maeda and Satoko Suetsuna 21-15, 21-16, while the Malaysians beat Indonesian second seeds Vita Marissa and Lilyana Natsir 21-11, 18-21, 21-18 in the semifinals.

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