Taipei GPG Finals: Chen Long Faces Chou Tien Chen and Xuerui Plays Wang Yihan

In the men’s singles semifinal on Saturday, world no.1 Chen Long of China demolished the challenge of Hong Kong’s 11th seeded Wei Nan and on Sunday he will clash with another Chen from Taiwan. On his part, the Taiwanese Chou Tien Chen scored a grand three-game victory over no.4 seeded Chinese Lin Dan in a 77-minute encounter to gladden the hearts of local spectators. Among women, top seed Ratchanok Intanon fell in semifinal against China’s no.6 seed Wang Yihan in two games. Therefore the Sunday’s women’s singles final will be an all-Chinese affair, where Wang Yihan will take on no.2 seed Li Xuerui, who defeated Taiwan’s no.3 seed Tai Tzu Ying in two easy games. There were upsets in men’s doubles as top seeded Korean pair of Lee Yong Dae and Yoo Yeon Seong were defeated by China’s Fu Haifeng/Zhang Nan. In the final on Sunday, the Chinese fifth seeds will play against Indonesia’s Gideon Markus Fernaldi/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, who defeated compatriots and third seeds Mohd Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan. In a women’s doubles semifinal, Indonesia’s Nitya Krishinda Maheswari/Greysia Polii beat the Japanese pair of Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi to set up a final clash with Chinese Luo Ying/Luo Yu, who ousted compatriots Huang Yaqiong/Ma Jin in the other semifinal. The mixed double final on Sunday will be an all-Korean affair, in which the pair of Shin Baek Choel/Yoo Jung Chae will take on Ko Sung Hyun/Kim Ha Na.

After sending out Lee Chong Wei out of the competition, Chen Long looks like emerging as the 2015 Chinese-Taipei Tournament champion. On Saturday he crushed Hong Kong’s Wei Nan in the semifinal. Wei Nan couldn’t put up against the ferocity of the Chinese as he lost in 37 minutes to the top-ranked Chinese in two games 18-21, 9-21. Chen takes on another Chen from Taiwan as Chou Tien Chen scored an upset victory over no.4 seeded Super Dan in three games. The 25-year-old, world no. 8 defeated double Olympic Games gold Medalist in three game 21-19, 18-21, 21-16. It was the first time in his badminton career that the Taiwanese had beaten Lin Dan after losing in all three previous encounters. The home crowd had much to cheer about as Chen advanced to the final.

Among women, top-seed Thai woman Ratchanok Intanon lost in the semifinal to Chinese no.6 seed Wang Yihan to pave the way for an all-Chinese final on Sunday. After the tough first set that went in Yihan’s favor, Intanon couldn’t sustain the Chinese onslaught and lost 20-22, 18-21. Wang Yihan will take on no.2 seed Li Xuerui, who defeated Taiwan’s no.3 seed Tai Tzu Ying 21-17, 21-14.

There was an upset in men’s doubles, when top seeded Korean pair of Lee Yong Dae/Yoo Yeon Seong lost to China’s no.5 seeded Fu Haifeng/Zhang Nan 16-21, 18-21 in 47 minutes. In Sunday’s final, Haifeng/Nan will face Indonesia’s Gideon Markus Fernaldi/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, who beat compatriots and no.3 seeds Mohd Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan 21-19, 21-17. In women’s doubles, Indonesians Nitya Krishinda Maheswari/Greysia Polii defeated the Japanese duo Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi 21-12, 21-16 to set up a final clash with Chinese Luo Ying/Luo Yu. On their part Ying/Yu defeated compatriots Huang Yaqiong/Ma Jin 21-17, 21-16 in the other semifinal. In mixed doubles, Shin Baek Choel/Yoo Jung Chae beat Indonesia’s Roland Alexander/Melati Daeva Oktaviani 21-18, 21-10 to make it an all-Korean final on Sunday. The other Korean pair of Ko Sung Hyun/Kim Ha Na got past another Indonesian combo of Praveen Jordan/ Debby Susanto 22-20, 21-15.