Iwanaga-Nakanishi secure second Masters final appearance
Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi secured their second Masters final appearance in two months when they stormed into the final of the Women’s Doubles PERODUA Malaysia Masters 2024 triumphantly this afternoon at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil, Malaysia.
The world’s no.12 duo faced little difficulty to edge out sisters Gabriela Stoeva-Stefani Stoeva from Bulgaria 21-14, 21-16 in the semifinals.
Iwanaga-Nakanishi has also beaten the world’s No. 19 ranked Bulgarians – the three-times European champions – in the quarterfinals of the Spain Masters earlier this year.
With the win, Iwanaga-Nakanishi will take on the sixth-seeded pair from South Korea, Lee Yu-lim-Shin Seung-chan in the final tomorrow.
Yu-lim-Seung-chan had prevented the progress of Malaysians Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah’s into their second PERODUA Malaysia Masters appearance in two years.
The 2023 Taipei Open winners silenced the home crowd with a 21-16, 21-11 win over world No. 13 Pearly-Thinaah.
In the meantime, Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie from Malaysia delivered an upset in the semifinals of the Mixed Doubles when they upstaged top pair and compatriots Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei in straight sets 21-11, 21-19.
The recently married Soon Huat and Shevon seemed to have found their rhythm in the ongoing PERODUA Malaysia Masters to dump top seed Tang Jie-Ee Wei in 40 minutes.
Soon Huat-Shevon’s opponents in the final tomorrow is Rinov Rivaldy-Pitha Haningty Mentari from Indonesia, who had discarded the tournament third seed Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje from Denmark 26-24, 14-21, 21-18.
On the other hand, Women’s Singles second-seeded Wang Zhi Yi from China edged closer to her second Masters crown this year with an emphatic 21-9, 21-11 victory over Zhang Yi Man in the semifinals.
The world’s No. 8 had won the Indonesian Masters in January.
In the final tomorrow, the 24-year-old Hubei native will face Pusarla V. Sindhu from India following the latter’s 13-21, 21-16, 21-12 win over Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the other semifinal tie.
SEMIFINALS RESULTS
MEN’S SINGLES
Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) bt Lu Guang Zu (China) 21-6, 21-13
Lee Zii Jia (Malaysia) bt Angus Ng Ka Long (Hong Kong) 21-15, 21-17
WOMEN’S SINGLES
Wang Zhi Yi (China) bt Zhang Yi Man (China) 21-9, 21-11
Pusarla V. Sindhu (India) bt Busanan Ongbamrungphan (Thailand) 13-21, 21-16, 21-12
MEN’S DOUBLES
Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (Denmark) bt Arif Junaidi-Yap Roy King (Malaysia) 21-13, 21-19
Jinn Yong-Na Sung-seung (South Korea) bt He Ji Ting-Ren Xiang Yu (China) 21-19, 21-13
WOMEN’S DOUBLES
Rin Iwanaga-Kie Nakanishi (Japan) bt Gabriela Stoeva-Stefani Stoeva (Bulgaria) 21-14, 21-16
Lee Yu-lim-Shin Seung-chan (South Korea) bt Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah (Malaysia) 21-16, 21-11
MIXED DOUBLES
Rinov Rivaldy-Pitha Haningty vs Mentari (Indonesia) bt Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje (Denmark) 26-24, 14-21, 21-18
Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie (Malaysia) bt Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei (Malaysia) 21-11, 21-19
