Badminton: Kuncoro On Song For Singpore Open Title

SINGAPORE, June 19 (Bernama) -- Indonesia's Sony Dwi Kuncoro marched into his first Singapore Open final when he booked his ticket after beating India's Kashyap Parupalli 21-19, 21-19 at the Indoor stadium here Saturday.

And on current form, Kuncoro who will meet Thailand's Boonsak Ponsana, looks set to lift his first Singapore Open title.

The Indonesian who showed world number one Datuk Lee Chong Wei the exit yesterday, however, was made to work hard for the victory by the Indian while Ponsana, the 2007 champion, came back from a set down to beat Peter Gade of Denmark 20-22, 21-17, 21-16 in the other semi-final.

Kuncoro, Olympic bronze medallist, world championship silver medallist, four-time Asian Champion and winner of a string of Super Series titles has yet to win the Singapore Open.

"I am enjoying my badminton now and that's the attitude I will carry into tomorrow's final. I feel more relaxed and probably that's why I could beat Kashyap today. He was a very determined opponent and I could tell he just refused to surrender.

"We have never met before and probably that's why we were wary of each other. But he is a good player for sure. Calm on the court and he has the speed to trouble opponents," said the 26-year-old Sony.

But while Kashyap's semi-final ended in disappointment, his team-mate Saina Nehwal pulled off a spectacular come from behind victory over China's Lu Lan, the reigning world champion in their women's singles semi-final clash.

Saina, the top seed here and fresh from winning the Indian Open, beat Lu Lan 8-21, 21-17, 21-8 and the Hyderabad-born Indian No 1 will play Chinese Taipei's 16-year old Tai Tzu Ying in tomorrow's final.

Tzu Ying, ranked No 118 in the world beat South Korea's Bae Youn Joo 21-16, 21-18, an outcome that will certainly give Taiwanese badminton a boost in the tournament with the triumph of Fang Chieh Min and Lee Sheng Mu in the men's doubles semi-final over the Olympic champions Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia.

Source from BERNAMA

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