Chinese badminton icon Lin Dan was stunned by world No. 56 Sony Kuncoro of Indonesia in the men's singles semi-finals at the Singapore Open Superseries here on Saturday.
Quick off the block, Kuncoro raced to a 21-10 victory in the first game. Lin then dug deep to take the second game at 21-17 and the tie went into a tie-breaker, before the Indonesian found enough reserves to edge out the five-time world champion 22-20, reports Xinhua.
"It's been a while since I last won. I think this win really means plenty to me," admitted Kuncoro. "I'm very happy today because it was such an awesome game. The scores in the first set were pretty far apart, so when it got closer in the next two sets, I just concentrated on the game to get one point at a time."
Lin, the two-time Olympic champion admitted that he didn't play well and his rival was in a better condition than himself.
Kuncoro will be up against South Korea's world No. 10 Son Wan Ho, as the latter booked a place in the final following a straight set 22-20, 21-16 victory over Angus Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong.
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In the women's singles semi-finals, Former world champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand won 21-12, 22-20 over Japan's Akane Yamaguchi, who a day earlier knocked out world No. 1 Carolina Marin.
Ratchanok's final rival will be defending champion Sun Yu from China, who cruised to a 21-10, 21-16 victory over compatriot He Bingjiao.
In the men's doubles, South Korea's world No.1 pair Lee Yong Dae and Yoo Yeon Seong were upset by fourth-seeded Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan of China 16-21, 21-23. Fu and Zhang set up a final showdown with Japan's Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda who toiled hard against China's Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen in a 21-16, 21-17 victory.
The mixed doubles final will be attended by China's Xu Chen and Ma Jin, who saw off compatriots Wang Yilyu and Chen Qingchen 21-13, 23-21, and South Korea's Ko Sung Hyun and Kim Ha Na, who knocked out Indonesia's Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir at 21-14, 21-16.
In the women's doubles semi-finals, Indonesia's Nitya Krishinda Maheswari and Greysia Polii triumphed 21-18, 21-13 over South Korea's Jung Kyung Eun and Shin Seung Chan to secure a berth in the final.
They will be up against Misaki Matsumoto and Ayaka Takahashi as the Japanese pair edged past China's Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei 21-17, 20-22, 21-16.
