T

ommy Sugiarto reached the semifinals of the 2014 BWF World Championships by beating Eric Pang of the Netherlands 22-20, 21-19 in a quarterfinal match in Copenhagen on Friday.

The match was tight and tense, according to a report from the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI), with Tommy close to a reversal in the opening game and having to overhaul the huge deficit in the second game.

In the first game, Tommy pulled off a 15-10 lead but Pang accelerated his offenses to overtake the score at 17-16.

Pang reached a game point at 20-19, however Tommy regained his composure and forced the game into a deuce to take the game at 22-20.

'€œWhen I was trailing in the first game, I decided I had to win it at all cost because the first game is important. Then I tried to play with more restraint,'€ he said.

Losing the first game motivated Pang to fight back as he raced to 17-11. Tommy clawed his way up again before rounding the game off with a victory.

'€œWhen leading, he looked nervous and drained of stamina, so I had to seize the opportunity,'€ he said.

In the semifinals, Tommy will face Chen Long of China, who defeated Wan Ho Son of South Korea 21-14, 12-21, 21-17.

The other semifinal matches will pit Lee Chong Wei against Wang Zhengming and Tien Chen Chou of Chinese Taipei against Viktor Axelsen of Denmark. They were scheduled to play later on the day.

Other Indonesian players also had matches scheduled for later in the day. Angga Pratama/Rian Agung Saputro were up against Kim Ki-jung/Kim Sang-ra of South Korea in the men'€™s doubles while Praveen Jordan/Debby Susanto played Joachim Fischer Nielsen/Christinna Pedersen in mixed doubles.

Indonesia'€™s last hopes in the women'€™s doubles, Anggia Shitta Awanda/Della Destiara Haris, lost to Tian Qing/Zhao Yunlei 12-21, 15-21.