At Saturday's semifinals, we saw the last Dane, Anders Antonsen, being knocked out and not less than five Japanese advances to the finals.
It was a cool Kento Momota who beat Kidambi Srikanth in today’s semifinal. After the match, we asked Momota how he felt and if he felt confident winning DANISA DENMARK OPEN 2018 presented by VICTOR to which he instantly answered: YES!
The world champion played an indeed brilliant match against Srikanth and throughout the tournament, he has been proving his worth as world’s number one.
Momota's opponent at tomorrow's final will be Chou Tien Chen. Momota is ahead of the game considered favorite for the gold medal but we have several times learned that being favorite on paper does not necessarily add up on the court.
The Chinese mixed double Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong has swept all competition aside so far, but today they faced the Indonesian couple Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir who gave them a good fight. In the first game, the Chinese were dominant and took the lead. That lead was enlarged until they won the first game with figures 21-11.
- It was a fun match, especially in the first game we kept a high intensity and felt like being in control. In the second game the tempo was broken, so we struggled a bit. We fixed the problem in the third game, so it was good fun, Zheng Siwei said after the match.
The second game was an entirely different story. The lead changed several times during the game and it was not until the end, that the Indonesians could take home the win with the figures 21-19. In the third game, we saw a similar picture as in the first. The Chinese took control and held on, winning 21-17. Sunday they face Sapsiree Taerattanachai/Dechapol Puavaranukrohin in the final.
- I focus on the whole competition, and I want to do my best in every match, Tai Tzu Ying said after her semifinal win.
Much like Kento Momota, Tai Tzu Ying has been dominating each match she has played so far. Winning in cool style against He Bingjiao in the semifinal 21-14, 21-12. Bingjiao was unable to reach Tai Tzu Ying’s high level as well as the game plan which led to the victory in favor of Ying, who played with confidence and grace.
Tomorrow Ying is taking on Indian Saina Nehwal in the DANISA DENMARK OPEN 2018 presented by VICTOR women’s singles final.
Even though only playing two sets, it took quite a while until Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota could close today’s semifinal against Koharu Yonemoto/Shiho Tanaka. Both players played defensively well and patience was a key factor in today’s game. A very tough match for both opponents, but the Japanese came out with a safe victory in the end 21-13, 21-16.
They are facing their countrymen Koharu Yonemoto/ Shiho Tanaka in tomorrow’s final, which probably will be a tough match for both sides.
Men’s double's Marcus Gideon/Kevin Sukamuljo played their countrymen Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan in an intense fight for a ticket to the finals at DANISA DENMARK OPEN 2018 presented by VICTOR. Gideon/Sukamuljo performed at a high level in the first game which they won, getting one step closer to the final. Sukamuljo/Gideon were ahead from the very beginning and ended up taking the game 21-18.
The second game should turn out to be more dramatic. Gideon/Sukamuljo were in the lead until the score 16-10. Out of nowhere, Ahsan/Setiawan took home eight points in a row and a third set was looming. Gideon/Sukamuljo managed to get their focus back on track to win the game 22-20.
The Indonesian finalists are playing Keigo Sonoda/Takeshi Kamura in tomorrow’s men’s doubles final of DANISA DENMARK OPEN 2018 presented by VICTOR.
DANISA DENMARK OPEN presented by VICTOR was not the only tournament taking place Saturday. All four of the main event’s side tournaments were on all around Odense. Today was the last day of VICTOR DENMARK PARA presented by DANISA.
Read more on all four side tournaments here: