SHAH ALAM: Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying pulled off a major coup when she stunned India's third seeded Saina Nehwal in the Celcom Axiata Malaysia Open semifinals today to set-up a final battle against Thailand's Ratchanok Inthanon.
Another massive upset today was the shocking defeat of the top seeded mixed doubles pair of Zhang Nan-Zhao Yunlei who were outplayed by Malaysians Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying.
The Malaysians threw everything they had into the game and came away the deserving winners. They won 24-26, 21-15, 21-13 to make the final cut.
Meanwhile, Tzu Ying, who had surprised Li Xuerui, the second seed, along the way, has been in tremendous form all week and today was no different as she worked her way past Saina, winning 21-19, 21-13 in 34 minutes.Wang Yihan will face former world champion Ratchanok Inthanon from Thailand in the last four tomorrow.
Her final opponent, Ratchanok was in equally awesome form and did not have much problems gunning down China's Wang Yihan in the otehr semifinal clash.
Ratchanok snacthed the first set 21-11 and despite a late charge from Wang Yihan, went on to claim the match with a 21-19 win in the second set.
With both players in great condition, the final is set to be a thriller. The head-to-head count between the two favours Ratchanok 7-5. The Thai's last win over Tzu Ying was at the recent Indian Open.
"Whether I win the final or not does matter but I will certainly cherish this win, the fans and this stadium….I have never beaten Yihan in my previous meetings," said a happy Ratchanok after her victory.
"Before the match I was still haunted by past defeats. I took the court without pressure…the pressure was on Yihan.
"I was mentally prepared and helped by my fitness and overall performance here, I was ready to make it count this time. I was not going to take another defeat. The win is very motivating for me."
This is Ratchanok's second final in two weeks, having won the Yonex Sunrise India Open Superseries in New Delhi. Next week she will head to Singapore for the Singapore Open Superseries. She will also compete in the Asian Badminton Championships.
Tzu Ying was also thankful to the Malaysian fans who made her "feel at home" in her win over Nehwal.
"This is the first time I got such fan support when playing Saina. In the past Saina used to have more support in the stands," said Tzu Ying.
Meanwhile, Peng Soon and Liu Ying were thrilled to make the grade, "This is our first win against them. We had hoped for a good result. It feels good to have finally beaten them," said Peng Soon.
SELECTED RESULTS (Semifinals)
Men's singles
1-Chen Long (chn) vs Christie Jonatan (Ina) 8-21, 21-19, 21-14
Men's doubles
4-Chai Biao-Hong Wei (Chn) bt Mads Conrad-Petersen-Mads Pieler Kolding (Den) 26-14, 21-19
Women's singles
4-Ratchanok Inthanon (Tha) bt 6-Wang Yihan (Chn) 21-11, 21-19
Tai Tzu Ying (Tai) bt 3-Saina Nehwal (Ind) 21-19, 21-13
Women's doubles
7-Jung Kyung Eun-Shin Seung Chan (Kor) vs 2-Maheswari Nitya Krishinda-Greysia Polii (Ina) 21-16, 21-14
5-Tang Yuanting-Yu Yang (chn) bt Shizuka Matsuo-Mami Naito (Jpn) 21-15, 21-18
Mixed doubles
Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying (Mas) bt 1-Zhang Nan-Zhao Yunlei (Chn) 24-26, 21-15, 21-13
2-Tontowi Ahmad-Liliyana Natsir (Ina) bt 6-Joachim Fischer Nielsen-Cristinna Pedersen 21-18, 21-17
