18-6-2023 (JAKARTA) Chen Yufei, the Olympic champion from China, secured her place in the women’s singles final at the 2023 Indonesia Open on Saturday by defeating South Korea’s An Se-young. In a repeat of China’s recent Sudirman Cup victory, Chen overpowered her opponent 21-8, 21-17 in Jakarta’s famous badminton arena, Istora Senayan.
Despite a stronger second game from An, Chen remained focused and increased the pressure on her opponent, dominating the baseline. “An was more patient in the second game, and we were engaged in some long rallies, so I put up the pressure on her in the baseline,” said Chen, who is 25 years old.
Chen’s opponent in Sunday’s final will be Carolina Marin from Spain. Meanwhile, China’s Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong, who are currently ranked world No. 1 in mixed doubles, defeated their compatriots Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping in just 42 minutes with scores of 21-19, 21-10. They will now face the Japanese duo of Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino in the final.
However, there was disappointment for China’s Li Shifeng, who failed to reach the men’s singles final. He lost to Indonesia’s Anthony Sinisuka Ginting 21-17, 21-15. Ginting will now face Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen in Sunday’s final, after Axelsen beat India’s HS Prannoy 21-15, 21-15 to secure his place in his 10th BWF World Tour Super 1000 final in 11 events.
The Indonesia Open, which is a major tournament in the badminton calendar, will no longer be held at Istora Senayan from next year. The historic venue will be replaced by the country’s new Indoor Multifunction Stadium (IMS) due to its larger audience capacity, according to the organizing committee.
