Badminton: Unseeded players dominate Indonesia Open semis

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Srikanth Kidambi of India returns a shot against Son Wan Ho of South Korea during their men’s singles semi-final match at the Indonesia Open badminton tournament in Jakarta -AFP photo

JAKARTA: A host of unseeded players cruised into the finals of the Indonesia Open on Saturday after defeating several top ranked shuttlers in the tournament.

India’s Srikanth Kidambi booked his spot in the final after scoring a stunning victory against world number one Son Wan Ho of South Korea.

Kidambi, currently ranked 22nd globally, managed to gain the upperhand against the South Korean in opening set before losing control halfway through the match.

He eventually managed to regain his composure, defeating Son by 21-15, 14-21, 24-22 in the hard-fought match.

“I think in the last point I was really lucky there… I’m very happy with the way I played throughout,” Srikanth told reporters after the win.

In the final, Srikanth will square off against Japan’s Kazumasa Sakai who beat fellow unseeded Indian player H.S. Prannoy 17-21, 28-26, 21-18.

“In the first game I could not gain control and my body still felt heavy, but I fixed it in the second and third game by moving as fast as I could to control the game,” said Sakai.

Prannoy failed to maintain his winning ways after knocking off Olympic champion Chen Long of China and top seed Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in stunning upsets.

In the women’s competition, Sayaka Sato of Japan clinched a spot in the final after outlasting Thailand’s Nitchaon Jindapol 13-21, 21-18, 21-14.

She will face Sung Ji-Hyun of South Korea in the final, who earlier overpowered American Zhang Beiwen 21-10, 8-21, 21-10.

Indonesia’s leading mixed doubles squad, Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir, also booked a ticket in the final after dominating Malaysia’s Chan Peng Soon and Yen Wei Peck in straight sets, 21-13, 21-14.

The duo will face China’s Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen in the final. -AFP