*Yong-dae-Yeon-seong to meet Ahsan-Setiawan in men’s doubles final
The amazing on-court chemistry of the Luo twins from China – Luo Ying and Luo Yu – have helped them claim a place in the women’s doubles final of the Maybank Malaysian Open Superseries Premier where they will face South Koreans Chang Ye-na-Jung Kyung Eun.
In the semi-finals at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil, the identical twins won over the fans, not only for their looks, but also for their fantastic fighting spirit. After losing the first set 17-21, the Luo twins shifted into overdrive and carved out a 21-19 in the second set.
It was smooth sailing in the decider as the Luo twins smashed their way to a 21-9 win and take the match in 68 minutes.
“Yes. We admit that as twins there is some strong chemistry between us on the court. It helped us in many ways during a match and this what brought us today’s win,” said Luo Ying.
In the final the Luo twins, seeded No 3, are the favourites to beat the Koreans who stunned No 8 seeds Xia Huan-Tian Qing of China with a 24-22, 21-15 win in 52 minutes.
“More importantly we are on track as we have a two fold mission this year – the world championships in Jakarta in August and to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Winning the Malaysian Open will be a big boost to our mission,” added Luo Ying.
In the same breath Luo Ying said the Koreans are in great shape and their win over Xia Xuan-Ting Qing speaks of the dangers if they are to underrate their opponents in the final.
Meanwhile, men’s doubles top seeds Lee Yong-dae-Yoo Yeon-seong were given a fright by third seeds Lee Sheng Mu-Tsai Chia Hsin of Taiwan before booking a place in the final in a titanic 65-minute battle before prevailing 21-15, 20-22, 22-20.
They will meet Indonesia’s crack combination of Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan (No 4 seeds) who snuffed out second seeds and Denmark’s hope Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen 21-16, 18-21, 21-16 in 57 minutes.
“It is a confidence boosting win for us. There is plenty of fire in us, We have big crowd support here,” said Hendra after the win. The defeat was demoralising for the Danes but Boe was sporting in giving credit to the Indonesian pair.
“We simply had no rhythm in our game today. The Indonesian pair deserve to win…they were skillful and scoring great points. Credit to them and they deserve to be in the final,” said Boe.
SEMI-FINAL RESULTS
MEN’S DOUBLES
Lee Yong-dae-Yoo Yeon-seong (Kor) beat Lee Sheng Mu-Tsai Chia Hsin (Tpe) 21-15, 20-22, 22-20
Mohammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan (Ina) beat Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen (Den) 21-16, 18-21, 21-16
WOMEN’S DOUBLES
Luo Ying-Luo Yu (Chn) beat Ou Dongni-Xiaohan Yu (Chn) 17-21, 21-19, 21-9
Chang ye-na-Jung Kyung-eun (Kor) beat Xia Huan-Tian Qing (Chn) 24-22, 21-15
