LEE Chong Wei strode confidently into the semi-finals of the India Open but Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong were outplayed by Indonesian back-up pair Angga Pratama-Ryan Agung Saputra in the quarter-finals of the India Open in New Delhi yesterday.
Chong Wei was fluent on court and hardly seemed to be bothered by the right shoulder injury suffered in the All England last month as he notched a 21-16, 21-13 win over Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia in just 34 minutes.
He will meet Hsu Jen Hao of Taiwan, who beat Hans Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark 21-19, 21-18, in the semi-finals today.
Angga-Ryan repeated their Axiata Cup victory over Kien Keat-Boon Heong with a 21-18, 15-21, 21-19 scoreline in 58 minutes to leave the Malaysians gasping.
Men's doubles chief coach Tan Kim Her struggled to find words to explain Kien Keat-Boon Heong's defeat as he claimed his leading pair had prepared well for the tournament.
"Kien Keat-Boon Heong worked hard before the tournament and were in good condition and that's the reason I set them a semi-final target. It's hard to win matches now if a pair is too defensive but that could not be the only reason for their defeat," said Kim Her in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
"I just watched their match on TV and it's hard to conclude what transpired. I have to get a report from Pang (Cheh Chang) and find out what went wrong.
"They will play in the Malaysia Open (beginning Wednesday) and I hope they can do well and get some confidence back."
However, there was some consolation as Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah advanced to the semi-finals after a 21-17, 16-21, 21-10 win over Russians Vladimir Ivanov-Ivan Sozonov to reach the semi-finals of a Super Series event for the first time.
They will play Ko Sung Hyun-Yoo Yeon Seong of South Korea in the last four.
Mixed doubles Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying crashed out after losing 21-14, 15-21, 21-18 to Thailand's Sudket Prapakamol-Saralee Thungthongkam.
China shuttler Chen Jin confirmed his place in the London Olympics when his Danish rival Peter Gade Christensen lost 24-22, 21-18 to Shon Wan Ho of South Korea.
Christensen had to win the tournament to deny Chen Jin, who has broken into the top four in the world rankings after winning last week's Badminton Asia Championships, a place in the Olympics.
Chen Jin, who joins World No 2 Lin Dan and World No 3 Chen Long in the Olympics, conceded a walkover to India's P. Kashyap in their quarter-final match last night.
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