Lee on course for 5th Indonesia Open win

JAKARTA: World No.1 Lee Chong Wei was on course for his fifth Indonesia Open Super Series title after defeating Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka in the semifinals on Saturday.
Malaysia’s Lee will face Marc Zwiebler in the men’s singles final in Jakarta on Sunday after the German beat Indonesian Tommy Sugiarto in his semi.
Lee played a series of powerful smashes and smooth drop shots to convincingly defeat the 24th-ranked Rumbaka of Indonesia 21-17, 21-14 in 39 minutes.
Rumbaka, who stunned world No. 3 Du Pengyu of China with a 21-15, 15-21, 21-9 home victory in Friday’s quarterfinal, proved no match for Lee’s superior technical skills and experience.
“Hayom (Rumbaka) has improved a lot. He played much better than before,” Lee said of his opponent.
Zwiebler beat Sugiarto 21-17, 21-10 in 37 minutes.
Sugiarto had won a spot in the semi-final after toppling world No. 2 Chen Long of China in the first round.
Zwiebler said he was “not expecting to win” against Lee.
“I have no pressure. I just want to give everything I have to put on a good show, to put on a good fight and to annoy him as much as I can,” he said.
In the women’s singles, defending champion Saina Nehwal of India went out after losing to Germany’s Juliane Schenk in a grueling three-set match that ended 12-21, 21-13, 21-14 and lasted 52 minutes.
Schenk’s aggressive net play and jump smashes forced the world number two Nehwal, who has won the Indonesia Open three times, to either miss shots or hit wide.
Schenk will take on world No. 1 Li Xuerui of China in the final.
Li advanced to the last round after beating Hong Kong’s Yip Pui Yin 17-21, 21-11, 21-11.
The Indonesia Open runs until Sunday with prize money of $ 700,000 across all categories.