All final tickets at the HYLO Badminton Open 2021 solved by players from the largest continent in the world.
It has always been no secret that Asian athletes dominate badminton all over the world. This dominance from the Far East is also more than noticeable at this year's HYLO Open. With the exception of Canada's Michelle Li, the ten semi-final matches were contested by players from Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and other countries. Since Li lost her semifinal against Singapore's Yeo Jia Min in three sets, the final day on Sunday is completely in Asian hands.
When the world's best men's doubles team Marcus Gideon and Kevin Sukamuljo entered the center court of the Saarlandhalle on Saturday morning, there was no stopping them in the stands. Numerous fans, especially from Indonesia, had secured the highly coveted tickets for the penultimate day of the tournament and created a great atmosphere. Inspired by the cheers, the duo Gideon/Sukamuljo did not show any weakness in the opening match of the day and defeated the Thai Supak Jomkoh and Kittinupong Kedren in two sets with 21:17 and 21:16. Thus, the two Indonesians continue to live up to their role as favorites at the HYLO Open and will fight for the title in the men's doubles on Sunday in front of an expected similarly large crowd: "We are very happy that so many Indonesian fans have come to the hall to cheer us on," Gideon was pleased with the great support.
They will face their compatriots Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin in the final, who have been playing an outstanding tournament so far and, after their success against the "Daddies" Ahsan/Setiawan on Friday, want to make the next Indonesian world class doubles desperate.
Surprises in the women's disciplines
Alles andere als verzweifelt war am Samstagnachmittag die Singapurerin Yeo Jia Min. Die im Turnier ungesetzte 22-Jährige bezwang im Halbfinale die an Position drei gesetzte Kanadierin Michelle Li mit 21:12, 23:25, 21:12 und sicherte sich damit schon jetzt den wohl größten Erfolg ihrer noch jungen Karriere. „Ich bin froh, dass ich es so weit geschafft habe, möchte nun aber natürlich auch den Turniersieg holen“, erklärte die erleichterte Yeo nach Spielende. Etwas dagegen haben wird ihre Finalgegnerin Busanan Ongbamrungphan aus Thailand. Die Weltranglisten- 14. sicherte sich im Halbfinale einen hart umkämpften Erfolg gegen ihre Landsfrau Chaiwan und strebt nun ihren zweiten Titelgewinn in diesem Jahr an.
The spectators in the Saarlandhalle also saw further surprise victories in the women's doubles. While the duo Chisato Hoshi and Aoi Matsuda (JPN) eliminated the number one seeded pair Kititharakul/Prajongjai (THA), Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi (JPN) made sure that the Indonesian winning streak at the HYLO Open was stopped at least in the women's doubles. Thus, badminton fans can look forward to an all-Japanese final on Sunday.
Lee Zii Jia wants to take revenge
The final of the men's singles will be a match that was already on the schedule a week ago at the French Open. There, however, Loh Kean Yew (SGP) and Malaysian Lee Zii Jia already met in the first round, with the better end for the Singaporean. So it is clear that Lee, after his semi-final victory over Srikanth Kidambi (21:19, 22:20), now wants to take revenge for the recent defeat in France. And while we are on the subject of "revenge": After his victory against Lee, Loh Kean Yew failed in the round of 16 at the French Open against Laksyha Sen from India. As luck would have it, the two players met again on yesterday's semifinal day. The fact that the Singaporean was able to prevail this time somehow fits the picture and promises an exciting final pairing on Sunday.
Favorit:innen prevail in the Mixed
Thailand versus Indonesia was the motto of the semifinals in the mixed discipline. At the end of the day, it was 1-1 in the country duel. First, the Thai duo Puavaranukroh/Taerattanachai prevailed against Rinov Rinaldy and Pitha Mentari (IDN) with 22:20, 21:14. Immediately following the match, Praveen Jordan and Melati Oktavianti followed suit and ensured at least an Indonesian spot in the mixed team finals with their win over the pairing of Jomkoh/Paewsampran. Thus, the mixed discipline is the only one in which the two top-seeded athletes actually made it to the final.
