One of the Super Series Premier events, China Open, was held from November 12th to 17th in Shanghai. Malaysian Hoon Thien How (VTZF)/Tan Wee Kiong (VTZF) and Danish Christinna Pedersen (NR800) became runners-up.
In the men’s doubles, Thien How and Wee Kiong advanced to the final by winning tough matches en route. They defeated No. 2 seed Mathias Boe (VT80)/Carsten Mogensen (ARC-FB) by 25-23 21-15 in the first round and faced Russian Vladimir Ivanov (VT80)/Ivan Sozonov (VT80), who had a solid performance against Koo Kien Keat(NR-ZSP)/Tan Boon Heong(NR-ZSP) to win the match with 21-18 21-18. The pressure from taller Vladimir and Ivan troubled Thien How and Wee Kiong, however, the Malaysian duo played steadily to lessen their disadvantage and continued to attack aggressively. They finally defeated the Russian duo with 21-14 18-21 21-15 to make it into the semifinals. It was also a tough match against Cai Yun and Chai Biao; the Chinese duo was leading the first game by 11-4, but Thien How and Wee Kiong caught up at 12-all. After taking the nail-biting game by 25-23 they won the second game by taking the initiative, finishing with 21-17. The Malaysian duo showed a wonderful performance to excite the spectators, although they lost to the Korean duo Lee Yong Dae and Yoo Yeon Seong by 21-13 21-12 in the final.
No. 4 seed Christinna and her partner Joachim Fischer Nielsen defeated No. 5 seed Chan Peng Soon (ARC10) and Goh Liu Ying (NR-ZSP) 21-19 21-19 in the quarterfinal. The Malaysian duo had a tough second round against Michael Fuchs (VT80) and Birgit Michels (NR700FX) with an amazing score of 22-20 30-28. It was also a close quarterfinal match, however, the Danish duo won the match with 21-19 21-19. Christinna and Joachim became the runners-up after the see-saw game against Indonesia’s Totnowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir with 21-10 5-21 21-17.
Tournament Results – Finals
Men’s Doubles
Lee Yong Dae/Yoo Yeon Seong (KOR) def. Hoon Thien How (VTZF)/Tan Wee Kiong (VTZF)(MAS) 21-13 21-12
Mixed Doubles
[2]Tontowi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir (INA) def. [4]Christinna Pedersen (NR800)/Joachim Fischer Nielsen (DEN) 21-10 5-21 21-17
Players’ images are from YONEX French OPEN 2013.