Friday’s matches prove that spots in the semifinals are not only meant for those who lay in the high end of the world ranking list. Some of the biggest stars in the tournament left the court with no spot to the next round.
Indonesian Ricky Karandasuwardi/Angga Pratama beated first seeded Chinese Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen. The score was really close, but in the end Karandasuwardi/Pratama demonstrated that they are ready to give everything they got. The match ended 21-18, 21-9 to the Indonesians.
Main hall was filled to the limit as world champion Viktor Axelsen and his opponent Srikanth Kidambi from india entered court one. They delivered a nerve-racking match with impressive offensive and defensive work. But in third set a lot of Axelsen’s shuttlecocks went into the net, which allowed Kidambi to take the lead and win the match 14-21, 22-20, 21-7.
- I think I made too many mistakes in the first part of the first game and gave him that early lead but in the second and the third game I really managed to stay focused and then he made some mistakes, said Srikanth Kidambi after the match.
In the match between fifth seeded Chou Tien Chen and Wong Wing Ki Vincent, the underdog showed his strength and powered through to the semifinal as he won with the results 22-20, 24-22.
The match between Ratchanok Intanon from Thailand and Sung Ji Hyun from Korea also ended surprising as Intanon’s stunning performance gave her a ticket to the semifinal. Intanon beated the third seeded in this tournament and left the court with the score 21-13, 21-18.
But after all, a lot of high seeded players went through to the semifinal.
The match between Japanese Akane Yamaguchi and Indian Saina Nehwal was an interesting match that made the audience cheer. In the first set Yamaguchi dominated and won the set 21-10. In the second set Saina Nehwal fought hard and took the lead a few times, but Yamaguchi gained her lead fast and the match ended 21-10, 21-13.
- I knew she was a strong player so therefore I was prepared and I could also play my own game today. We made a clear strategy by studying the opponent and a strength for me today was my mental stability, said Akane Yamaguchi after the match.
Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir from Indonesia also fought their way to the next round as they faced Li Yinhui/Zhang Nan. Both mixed doubles played well, but Ahmad/Natsir always had the upper hand and they won 21-10, 21-16.
Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo faced Wang Yilyu/ Huang Kaixiang in a thrilling match. But the second seeded Indonesians were always one step ahead and won the score 21-16, 21-13.
Friday night two Danish mens double also faced each other for a spot in the next round. Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen met Kasper Antonsen/Niclas Nohr, but the first seeded Boe/Mogensen showed why they are first seeded and won the match 21-16, 21-17.
Indian Prannoy H. S. faced the second seeded in this tournament Korean Son Wan Ho. Prannoy H. S. lived high on expectations as he sent Lee Chong Wei out of the tournament, but his excellence play weren’t enough to beat Son Wan Ho and then Prannoy left the tournament with the result 21-13, 21-18.