Indonesian shuttlers stop Chinese in men's doubles

Jakarta - Indonesian unseeded men’s doubles shuttlers Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan defeated Chinese pairing of Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng in the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier Friday, thrashing China’s only hope to win the event in the tournament.

Ahsan and Setiawan won the match 21-18, 21-13, beating the No.5 seeds.

“We had anticipated this match. We learned from their performance in Sudirman Cup. We had analysed the way they played, and that made us confident in the match today,” Ahsan said.

The Indonesian pairing did not give a chance to the Chinese that championed Indonesia Open in 2011.

Setiawan said that performance of the Chinese pairing, Cai Yun in particular, has been decreasing, particularly after the London Olympics.

In the semi-finals, Ahsan-Setiawan are scheduled to play Russians Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov.

In women’s doubles, China secured two semi-final berths after their seeded players thrashed their opponents in the quarter-finals.

No.4 Ma Jin and Tang Jinhua defeated Indonesia’s Pia Zebadiah and Rizki Amelia Pradipta 21-15, 21-10 while Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei beat back the challenge from Japanese pairing of Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi and advanced into the semi-finals with a win of 21-16, 15-21, 21-19.

Two more Chinese seeded pairings, No.1 and defending champions Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang and No.8 Bao Yixin and Cheng Su are scheduled to play against Indonesian opponents Friday.