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AKARTA: Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir overcame opening game jitters to secure a semifinal berth in the mixed doubles badminton event at the Korea Open in Seoul on Friday.

Against Lu Kai/Huang Yaqiong of China, Tontowi/Liliyana were beaten 16-21 in the first game before sealing the next two games 21-11, 21-17.

Earlier, Greysia Polii/Nitya Krishinda Maheswari preserved Indonesia'€™s hopes for a women'€™s doubles title by defeating Wang Xiaoli/Yu Yang of China 21-4, 21-18.

However, hopes for the men'€™s doubles were shattered as Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan bowed out to Kim Gi-jung/Kim Sa-rang 21-17, 21-15.

Tontowi/Liliyana will be challenged by spouses Chris Adcock/Gabrielle Adcock of England in the semifinals on Saturday.

Despite holding 6-2 over their opponents in their previous meetings, the Indonesian pair said they would stay alert.

'€œEntering the semifinals proves they must have played well. We must be more prepared than today. We will have to look into their games because it was long ago we last played each other,'€ Liliyana said, as quoted by the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI).