All-Malaysian affair: Cheam June Wei (above) will play compatriot Leong Jun Hao (below) in the Indonesian Masters final today.
PETALING JAYA: There will be a Malaysian winner in the men’s singles of the Indonesian Masters today after Cheam June Wei and Leong Jun Hao stormed into the final.
Independent shuttler June Wei was too good for Taiwan’s Lee Chia Hao, winning 21-7, 21-3 in 18 minutes in the semi-finals at the Gor Platinum in Malang yesterday.
The world No. 65’s coach Nova Widianto was understandably over the moon.
“June Wei has been performing well and able to keep a steady head all week, the only thing left is to improve his stamina and to play until the very end,” said Nova.
On Friday, June Wei played his heart out to defeat top seeded Ng Tze Yong 16-21, 21-13, 21-19 in the quarter-finals.
It won’t be easy for June Wei as he would be up against the in-form Jun Hao, who entered into his first international final by beating South Korea’s Son Wan-ho 21-18, 18-21, 21-13 in the other semi-final.
It was sweet revenge for Jun Hao as he had lost to the 121st ranked Wan-ho in straight games at the recent Malang Indonesia Challenge.
The 25-year-old June Wei holds the advantage over Jun Hao based on their head-to-head records.
June Wei has beaten the 23-year-old Jun Hao three times in their past five meetings – with the latest at the Vietnam Open second round last month.
RESULTS
Men’s singles: Cheam June Wei bt Lee Chia Hao (Tpe) 21-7, 21-3; Leong Jun Hao bt Son Wan-ho (Kor) 21-18, 18-21, 21-13
Women’s singles: Gao Fangjie (Chn) bt Natsuki Nidaira (Jpn) 21-17, 22-20; Riko Gunji (Jpn) bt Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi (Ina) 21-14, 21-14.
Men’s doubles: Rahmat Hidayat-Pramudya Kusumawardana (Ina) bt Hiroki Okamura-Masayuki Onodera (Jpn) 21-18, 21-14; He Jiting-Zhou Haodong (Chn) bt Ren Xiang Yu-Tan Qiang (Chn) 23-21, 21-19.
Women’s doubles: Rena Miyaura-Ayako Sakuramoto (Jpn) bt Jesita Putri Miantoro-Febi Setianingrum (Ina) 21-11, 21-13; Rui Hirokami-Yuna Kato (Jpn) bt Kim Min-ji-Seong Seung-yeon (Kor) 21-19, 18-21, 21-17.
Mixed doubles: Jiang Zhenbang- Wei Yaxin (Chn) bt Dejan Ferdinansyah-Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja (Ina) 21-17, 15-21, 23-21; Cheng Xing-Chen Fanghui (Chn) bt Jafar Hidayatullah-Aisyah Salsabila Putri Pranata (Ina) 23-21, 13-21, 21-14.
