NEW DELHI: World No.1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia moved into the men’s singles final of the India Open badminton tournament with a hard-fought win over Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana in New Delhi yesterday.
The Malaysian needed 53 minutes to complete a 21-11, 18-21, 21-8 victory over his seventh-seeded rival and make his third successive appearance in the final of this tournament. Lee will now clash with sixth-seeded Japanese Kenichi Tago, who registered a 21-16, 21-11 win over India’s Anand Pawar in the other semifinal.
The women’s singles final will be contested between second-seeded German Juliane Schenk and third seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand.
Schenk defeated Indonesian Aprilla Yuswandari 21-18, 21-18 while Intanon, 18, posted a crushing 21-12, 21-6 win over 17-year-old P.V. Sindhu of India in a battle of teenagers.
Top-seeded Lee won the opening game comfortably, but Ponsana lifted his performance to win the second. Lee, however, proved too strong for his opponent in the decider as he led from the beginning.
“I lost the second game because I lost focus,” said Lee, who won the 2011 India Open and finished runner-up last year.
“He (Ponsana) played well in the second game and I made some simple mistakes.” In the other men’s singles semifinal, Tago faced resistance from Pawar only in the initial stages of the opening game. He always looked in control in the remaining part of the 44-minute encounter.
“It was not an easy match and I think my defense was very good today,” Tago said through an interpreter.
It was the second clash between the two, with Togo winning the previous match against Pawar in three games at the 2007 Scottish International Championships.
“I think he (Tago) played a clever game,” said Pawar.
“I conceded a few easy points at crucial stages and I think that gave him the momentum. I didn’t stick to my plans.”
