JAKARTA, June 10 — Badminton world number one Viktor Axelsen breezed through to the semi-finals of the Indonesia Masters after defeating Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka-long today.
The Danish player secured his spot in the semis after beating Ng 21-13, 21-9 in a 39-minute game held at the Istora Senayan sporting arena in Jakarta.
In the semi, Axelsen will face home favourite Anthony Sinisuka Ginting who scored a victory against Malaysia’s rising star Lee Zii Jia 18-21, 21-16, 21-15 in a 69-minute game.
“Tomorrow against Ginting, it’s gonna be tough... but I’m looking forward to it,” Axelsen told reporters after the game.
In the women’s singles, Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei sealed her place in the top four after defeating Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-11, 21-15 in a 40-minute game.
“Today’s game went well, my opponent was a bit impatient so I performed better,” Chen told reporters.
Meanwhile India’s ace shuttler PV Sindhu bowed out of the competition after being outplayed by Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon 21-12, 21-10.
In the men’s doubles, hometown hero Kevin Sanjaya Sukomuljo and Marcus Gideon secured a spot in the semi-finals after a tight race against Malaysian pair Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin.
The reigning world champions, known affectionately as “The Minions” by fans, defeated the Malaysian opponents 10-21, 21-11 and 21-18 in 51 minutes.
The Indonesia Masters is the first tournament for Gideon after undergoing surgery to remove small bone growth in his ankles in April.
After the Indonesia Masters, the Indonesia Open is set to begin on June 14 and will last until June 19.
The back-to back tournaments were highly anticipated after almost three years without live audiences in the Indonesian capital due to the coronavirus pandemic. — AFP
