KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s top men’s singles player Lee Chong Wei will once again face rising Japanese star Kento Momota in the semi-final of the Indonesia Open at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta on Saturday.
Earlier, Chong Wei advanced to the semi-finals after seeing off the challenge of Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen, 21-13, 22-20, while Momota was equally impressive in his quarter-final as he dispatched Indonesia’s very own Tommy Sugiarto, 21-11, 21-15 in the other quarter-final played earlier today.
It will be their second meeting in a short span of only six days after they had squared off in the Malaysia Open men’s singles final where Chong Wei prevailed to lift a record 12th title.
This time round however, it is slightly different, as both players are playing to make it to the final instead of the title.
Chong Wei is determined to win a record seventh Indonesia Open title, which is motivation enough for him, while Momota on the other hand won the title back in 2015.
National men’s singles coach Hendrawan said that Chong Wei should not be burdened with too much hopes and expectations for yet another win over Momota as the 36-year-old veteran is starting to show signs of fatigue after playing non-stop in two tournaments one after another.
“I have to admit that Chong Wei is starting to show signs of fatigue especially in today’s quarter-final as he has been playing continuously as the Malaysia Open was just last week. And because of slight fatigue his focus was affected during the match but he still managed to qualify for the semi-finals.
“I have to say that we cannot put too high hopes that Chong Wei will win because physically it’s even more demanding now. Whatever it is, we can always count on Chong Wei to do his best and fight to the end,” said Hendrawan when contacted.
Chong Wei is currently ranked World No 4 and is one of only three players and the only non-Indonesian to have won the Indonesia Open six times in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2016. The other two are Ardy Wiranata and Taufik Hidayat.