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View all search resultsAll England champions Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir advanced to the final of the Indonesia Open Grand Prix Gold badminton championship in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Saturday, with the Indonesian team being assured of two titles in five events
ll England champions Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir advanced to the final of the Indonesia Open Grand Prix Gold badminton championship in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Saturday, with the Indonesian team being assured of two titles in five events.
Tontowi and Liliyana lived up to their top seed status by beating fellow Indonesians Markis Kido and Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth 21-19, 21-19 in the mixed doubles semifinals, according to tournamentsoftware.com, but it was their next opponents — Muhammad Rijal and Debby Susanto — who ensured all-Indonesian final.
Second seeds Rijal and Debby eased past Kim Sa-rang and Eom Hye-won 21-12, 21-12 in the other semifinal match.
Sony Dwi Kuncoro chalked up a 21-19, 21-8 win over Huan Gao of China in his semifinal match. His success in reaching the final means that the second title is safe for the hosts with Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka being his opponent. Hayom secured his final berth after defeating fellow Indonesian Yunus Alamsyah in a three-set encounter 19-21, 21-10, 21-14.
Indonesia stands a chance of adding another honor in the women’s singles and men’s doubles through Yeni Asmarani and the pairing of Angga Pratama and Ryan Agung Saputra.
Yeni was forced to labor in the second game of her semifinal match before cruising to a 21-15, 24-22 win over Adrianti Firdasari. She will face Li Han, who booked her final place by defeating Lindaweni Fanetri 22-20, 21-18.
Angga and Agung have Kim Ki-jung and Kim Sa-rang left to tackle after eking a 21-23, 21-10, 21-11 win over Faisal Hafiz and Rhoma Eka Putra. Ki-jung and Sa-rang also took three games to defeat Yonathan Suryatama Dasuki and Hendra Apriadi Gunawan 20-22, 21-15, 21-15.
The women’s doubles final will feature Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi of Japan against Eom Hye-won and Jang Ye-na of South Korea.
The Japanese pair edged out Pia Zebadiah and Rizki Amalia Pradipta 21-14, 21-19 while the Koreans sent home Chen Qingchen and Huang Dongping of China with a 21-14, 20-22, 21-17 win in a match that lasted over an hour.
For Tontowi and Liliyana, Sunday’s final will provide them a chance to win their third title this year after the All-England competition in March and the India Open in May.
Liliyana is playing in a final for the second time in two weeks after the Japan Open last week, when she and her partner Muhammad Rijal lost to the Malaysian pair.
Back with her regular partner Tontowi for this tournament, Liliyana said that the final berth had come to their relief after their opponents had forced them to fight, especially in the second game.
“We are grateful that we reached the final. We will have to on our game to win,” Liliyana said as quoted by Antara news agency.
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