RI men’s doubles pair reaches semifinals

Indonesian second seeds Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan booked a place in the World Badminton Championships semifinals in Paris after edging out Taiwanese pair Fang Chieh Min and Lee Sheng on Friday.

The Olympic men’s doubles champions won in straight sets 21-13, 21-13 to end their losing streak to their opponents in their three previous encounters, and now will face arch-rivals Fu Haifeng and Cai Yun of China for a ticket to Sunday’s final.

“We managed to keep our composure and wear out their patience. We just tried not to let them dictate the play,” Kido told Antara news agency of the evening quarterfinal match held at Pierre de Coubertin Stadium.

The Indonesian duo lost to their Taiwanese rivals in the China Super Series 2009 and the Singapore Open and the Indonesia Super Series earlier this year.

Kido said he expected a tough match against the Chinese pair of Fu and Cai, who made a short work of Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen of Denmark 21-13, 21-1 in another quarterfinal match. The Indonesians beat the Chinese three times in their seven previous meetings.

“We have often met, so we know well how they play,” Kido said.

The other semifinal match will pit top seeds Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong of Malaysia against Guo Zhendong and Xu Chen of China.