Ko Sung Hyun/ Lee Yong Dae faced Malaysia’s Goh V Shem/ Khim Wah Lim in the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles at the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold; the South Korean pair played outstandingly from the start, claiming the opening game by a wide margin, and went through in straight games, 21-7, 21-19.India’s Saina Nehwal also defeated Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying in straight games and will face top Chinese player Wang Shi Xian in the semi-finals.

 

Ko Sung Hyun/ Lee Yong Dae

 

Ko Sung Hyun/Lee Yong Dae have been inconsistent of late and, even though they got through their first two matches at the Swiss Open without much trouble, the pair aren’t happy with their play. After their last 16 stage match Ko/Lee actually spent almost an hour reviewing the match with their coach, showing their strong desire to improve. In the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles they faced Malaysian pair Goh V Shem/ Khim Wah Lim, who are no pushovers.

 

The Koreans got off to a great start by taking the first game 21:7. In the second game the Malaysian’s focused their attacks on Ko, whose ability to attack from defense was lacking, and, at one stage, they managed to take a 13:18 lead. However, the Korean’s stood firm and took the match by bagging a burst of eight points to the single point of their opponents. After the match Ko underwent 30 minutes of special defense training in an effort to improve his weaknesses. Their opponents in the semi-finals will be ADCOCK/ELLIS who put on a brilliant show today and will present a tough challenge for Ko/Lee.

 

Kim Ha Na/ Jung Kyung Eun

 

In the women’s doubles, South Korea’s Kim Ha Na/ Jung Kyung Eun faced their younger compatriots Kim So Young/ Choi Hye In, and came out on top 21-17,21-17; Kim/Jung didn’t need much time to dispose of their opponents and they will face Denmark’s top women’s doubles pair JUHL/PEDERSEN in the semi-finals. Another South Korean pair, Lee So Hee/Shin Seung Chan, also went through to the next stage and will face Malaysia’s Vivian Kah Mun Hoo/Woon Khe Wei in the semi-finals.

 

Tontowi AHMAD

 

In the mixed doubles, Indonesia’s AHMAD/ NATSIR faced the winners of the German Open Grand Prix Gold title,Shin Baek Choel// Jang Ye Na. The Indonesian's played brilliantly from the start, attacking in succession front and rear, and mercilessly putting Jang under a continuous barrage of attacks; they took the match 21-15;21-13 and will face China’s Zhang Nan/Tang Jin Hua in the semi-finals.

 

China’s men’s doubles pair Chai Biao/Hong Wei and mixed doubles partnership Zhang Nan/Tang Jin Hua may be new pairings but all four players are elite players who are highly talented and have rich tournament experience, so it is not really surprising that they were able to defeat higher-ranked Hoon Thien How-Tan Wee Kiong and MarkisKido/Pia Zebadiah in the quarter-finals, respectively. 

 

The semi-finals of the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold 2013 will be held today. Will fancied pair Ko/Lee get to the final of the men’s doubles; will AHMAD/NATSIR or Zhang Nan/Tang Jin Hua make it through to the finals in the mixed doubles? Keep a close eye on the official VICTOR website at www.victorsport.com

 

13:00	WD	HOO Vivian Kah Mun WOON Khe Wei	VS	LEE So Hee SHIN Seung Chan
13:40	XD	Michael FUCHS [6] Birgit MICHELS	VS	FISCHER NIELSEN [2] PEDERSEN
14:20	WS	Yui HASHIMOTO	VS	Ratchanok INTANON [5]
15:00	MD	LEE Yong Dae [1] KO Sung Hyun	VS	Chris ADCOCK Andrew ELLIS
15:40	MS	DU Pengyu [1]	VS	HU Yun [3]
19:00	XD	Tontowi AHMAD [1] Liliyana NATSIR	VS	ZHANG Nan TANG Jinhua
19:40	WD	Christinna PEDERSEN [1] Kamilla RYTTER JUHL	VS	KIM Ha Na [3] JUNG Kyung Eun
20:20	MD	CHAI Biao [6] HONG Wei	VS	CHANDRA KIDO
21:00	WS	Saina NEHWAL [1]	VS	WANG Shixian[4]
20:15	MS	Jan O JORGENSEN [4]	VS	WANG Zhengming [11]