The 2015 Vietnam Open Grand Prix tournament’s eleventh edition has reached the climax with finalists in all five categories decided on Saturday. On Friday, India’s campaign came to an end with the last remaining hope, Sameer Verma losing to the world no.24 and second seeded Korean Lee Hyun-Il in the quarterfinal. Lee has since reached the final by beating Malaysia’s no.10 seeded Wei Feng Chong in the semifinal on Saturday. The Korean will fight out with Indonesia’s top seed Tommy Sugiarto, who defeated compatriot Ginting Anthony in the other semifinal. In women’s singles, Indonesian youngster Fitriani Fitriani defeated Taiwan’s Cheng Chi Ya. Fitriani will play the title bout with Japan’s Saena Kawakami, who disposed of Thailand’s Supanida Katethong. The men’s doubles final on Sunday will be an all-China affair with the pair of Huang Kaixiang/Wang Sijie taking on compatriots Li junhui/Liu Yuchen. The women’s doubles final will be fought between the Thailand’s pair of Jongkonphan Kittiharakul/Rawinda Prajongjai and Indonesia’s Sucy Rizki Andini/Maretha Dea Giovani; while the mixed doubles final will be played between China’s Huang Kaixiang/Huang Dongping and Korea’s Solgyu ChoiYoo/Jung Chae.
Sameer Verma couldn’t stand against Korea’s no.2 seed Lee Hyun-Il in the quarterfinal. The Korean played a dominant first game and although Verma tried to force a decider in the second game, the Korean finally overpowered the Indian 21-15, 24-22. On Saturday, Lee made it to the final by beating the tenth seeded Malaysian Wei Feng Chong 24-22, 21-15 to set up a clash with the top seeded Indonesian Tommy Sugiarto. The no.1 seed has had a good tournament so far and he continued his dominant show by easily defeating his countryman Ginting Anthony 21-14, 21-19 in the other semifinal. Sugiarto has not dropped a single game in the tournament so far and he is a clear favorite against the Korean on Sunday.
In men’s doubles semifinal, China’s Huang Kaixiang/Wang Sijie had tough Indonesian customers on hand in the second seeded Indonesian pair of Andrei Adistia and Hendra Aprida Gunawan. The Indonesians lost the first game but bounced back in the second to force the decider. The Chinese combo, however, dictated terms in the third game to win at 21-16, 18-21, 21-16. Kaixiang/Sijie’s victory meant they will face their countrymen Li junhui/Liu Yuchen to make the final an all-Chinese affair. In the other semifinal, Li junhui/Liu Yuchen also had two fighting Indonesians to deal with. The no. 4 seeded Indonesians Gideon Markus Fernaldi and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo fought with the Chinese pair for 53 minutes before going down in three games, 21-15, 21-23, 18-21.
In the women’s singles draw, Indonesian teenager Fitriani Fitriani continued her marvelous run in the tournament and reached the final by defeating Taiwan’s Cheng Chi Ya 21-19, 21-19. The 17-year old Fitriani will vie for the singles crown on Sunday against Japan’s Saena Kawakami, who scored a 21-14, 21-10 victory over Thailand’s Supanida Katethong. In women’s doubles, the Thailand pair of Jongkonphan Kittiharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai defeated Indonesia’s Della Destiara Haris and Rizki Amelia Pradipta 15-21, 23-21, 21-19. For the title game, Kittiharakul/Prajongjai will play against another Indonesian pair Sucy Rizki Andini/Maretha Dea Giovani, who defeated Taiwan’s Huang Mei Ching/Chen Hsiao Huan 21-15, 21-17.
In a mixed doubles semifinal, China’s Huang Kaixiang/Huang Dongping defeated Malaysia’s Peng Soon Chang/Liu Ying Goh 21-9, 21-17. In the final on Sunday, the Chinese will play against the Korean pair of Solgyu ChoiYoo/Jung Chae, who scored a 24-22, 21-18 victory over Thailand’s Bodin Issara/Savitree Amitrapai.
