An Se Young, Christie storm into India Open final
World number one An Se Young continued her imperious run, while Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie showed his trademark resilience as they advanced to the women’s and men’s singles finals respectively at the USD 950,000 India Open Super 750 tournament here on Saturday.
Top seed and defending champion An Se Young, who has already won 11 titles this season and claimed the Malaysia Open Super 1000 last week, was in complete control as she swept past former world champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand 21-11, 21-7 in the women’s singles semifinals.
“Every match is a new feeling. I feel pressure but I try not to think about my feeling. I just try my best on the day and focus on my game,” said South Korean An. An will face China’s world number two Wang Zhiyi, who edged out compatriot and Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei 21-15, 23-21 in the other semifinal.
“I am looking forward to the final but I think tomorrow is Wang Zi, I will try my best,” An said. In the men’s singles, third seed Christie recovered from an early deficit to outlast Singapore’s former world champion Loh Kean Yew 21-18, 22-20 in 46 minutes to enter the final.
“I’m very happy. Loh is a very good player. He is playing very well. In the first set, he already was ahead maybe by 6-7 points. So I just wanted to give my best in this match,” said Christie, who left the national training center to become an independent player after the Sudirman Cup last year. The world number four Indonesian will face either Canada’s Viktor Lai or Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun-Yi in the title clash.
In women’s doubles, Japan’s Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto defeated second seeds Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan of Malaysia 21-16, 21-13, while third-seeded Thai mixed doubles pair of Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran stunned top seeds Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping of China 16-21, 21-19, 21-16.
‘Materials from bird nest’ halt play: Play was briefly interrupted during the women’s doubles semifinal between top-seeded Chinese pair Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning and sixth seeds Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee of Korea after some “material from the bird’s nest” fell on the court. With the Chinese duo leading 6-3 in the opening game, the match was stopped for a few minutes as officials inspected and cleaned the surface. While the players initially indicated it was bird droppings, officials later clarified that the interruption was caused by “material from a bird’s nest.”
The India Open, being held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium for the first time ahead of the World Championships in August, has been marred by complaints over air quality, extreme cold, hygiene concerns and the presence of stray animals. On Thursday, a men’s singles match involving HS Prannoy and Loh was halted twice due to bird droppings on the court.
