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Long, Marin reach finals, China locks mixed doubles title
Defending singles champions Chen Long of China and Carolina Marin of Spain moved closer to keeping their titles at the badminton world championships after winning their semifinals Saturday
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efending singles champions Chen Long of China and Carolina Marin of Spain moved closer to keeping their titles at the badminton world championships after winning their semifinals Saturday.
Top-seeded Long smashed out fourth-seeded Kento Momota of Japan 21-9, 21-15 in the men's event, extending his face-to-face record to 3-0.
Long will repeat his final last year against Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, who outclassed second-seeded Jan Jorgensen of Denmark 21-7, 21-19.
It will be their 21st encounter. Long leads 11-9, including winning at last year's championships in Copenhagen.
"I will do (my) best tomorrow," Long said. "If you do the best, you will win."
In women's singles, left-handed Marin struggled to beat her South Korean opponent, eighth-seeded Sung Ji-hyun, 21-17, 15-21, 21-16.
Top-seeded Marin trailed 13-8 in the third game at one point, before she won 10 consecutive points to lead 18-13. The top-ranked player then closed the match with a hard smash after allowing her opponent to get three points in two intervals.
"I was a little bit nervous at the beginning," the 22-year-old Spaniard said. "I could fight until the end so I am very happy with that."
Marin will play second-seeded Saina Nehwal of India who defeated Indonesian Lindaweni Fanetri 21-17, 21-17.
In men's doubles, ninth-seeded Liu Xiaolong and Qiu Zihan of China beat sixth-seeded Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa of Japan 21-16, 21-23, 22-20.
The Chinese pair will face third-seeded Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia after they upset the top-seeded Koreans Lee Yong Dae and Yoo Yeon Seong 21-17, 21-19 in the last match of the day.
In women's doubles, fourth-seeded Christinna Pedersen and Kamilla Rytter Juhl of Denmark beat Japanese duo Naoko Fukuman and Kurumi Yonao 21-12, 21-15. They play fifth-seeded Chinese Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei, who eliminated seventh-seeded Nitya Krishinda Maheswari and Greysia Polii of Indonesia 21-8, 21-16.
In the mixed doubles, the top-seeded Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei came from behind to beat third-seeded Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir 20-22, 23-21, 21-12. The Indonesia pair failed to convert a match point in the second game.
Fourth-seeded Liu Cheng and Bao Yixin upset second-seeded Xu Chen and Ma Jin 21-13, 15-21, 21-19 to set up an all-Chinese final. (**)
