Chinese men's double advance to Indonesia Open final

Chinese double Fu Haifeng and Cai Yun are closer to their second individual title this year after securing a berth in men's doubles final of the Indonesia Open badminton championship, beating local duo Flandy Limpele/Eng Hian in Jakarta on December 18.

The house pair gave a fierce fight in the first game, forcing the Chinese young guns to miss their first two game points and came back from 13-14 to take the lead 15-14.

But Fu/Cai managed to cope with pressures of the noisy home crowd at the Bung Karno Tennis Indoor Stadium and controlled the game after two service exchanges, ending the first game with 17-15.

In the second game, Flandy/Eng continued with their attacks and took the lead with 8-4. But the Chinese built solid defense and trailed from behind without giving any chance for their Indonesian opponents to add more points, sealing the game with 15-8.

"We weren't affected by the home crowd. The more the spectators, the more we enjoy playing," Cai Yun said in a post-match press conference.

In the final match Sunday, they will play another Indonesian pair Luluk Hadiyanto and Alven Yulianto who are seeded number one in the tournament.

"We consider Luluk and Alven our strongest rivals now," said Fu Haifeng, whose last title with Cai Yun was the Swiss Open in March.

In another semifinal battle, China's top shuttler Lin Dan lost to Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat in the most thrilling match of the day.

The first game was easy for Lin Dan who took a mere 15 minutes to beat Taufik 15-5.

But Taufik showed his usual confidence and strength when playing in home ground. He played precisely in the net and sometimes entertained local supporters with tricky shots, chopping down the shuttlecock when Lin Dan was expecting him to strike with smash.

After a 15-5 win in the second game, Taufik forced Lin Dan to play in the net and managed to lead 9-5 before the world's number one changed his strategy. Lin Dan added the pressures with powerful smashes as he did in the first game and took the lead with 11-9.

But Lin Dan looked very frustrated when his service failed to cross the net and Taufik, more accurate in rallies, came back from behind to seal the deciding game with 15-11.

Taufik will play Chen Hong of China to repeat last year's final of the tournament, in which Taufik was crowned the title.

Source: Xinhua