Indonesian shuttlers fall wayside at China Open

JAKARTA: There will be no Indonesian shuttlers in the China Open Super Series semifinals on Saturday after they fell to their Chinese opposition during Friday's quarterfinals.

Seventh seed Simon Santoso, who was the champion in Denmark, bowed out to second seed Lin Dan 12-21, 12-21 while Sony Dwi Kuncoro battled hard only to give in 16-21, 21-15, 12-21 to fourth seed Chen Jin.

In the mixed doubles, newly paired Devin Lahardi Fitriawan/Liliyana Natsir's march came to a halt, losing to Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei 14-21, 21-14, 14-21.

The China Open is the last step in the series before the world's top shuttlers head to Johor Baru, Malaysia, for the Super Series Masters Finals, although Indonesia has opted to skip the event to concentrate on the Southeast Asian Games. - JP