LI-NING CHINA OPEN SF - It will be Jan and Dan

Unable to repeat his victory in Singapore against Jan O Jorgensen, Chen Jin went down to Jan, becoming the first ever Chinese to retreat in defeat before the talented Dane. Meanwhile, the two young Chinese ladies, Wang Shixian and Li Xuerui who came in furiously and outflanked several higher-ranked players were finally shaken off by their fellow teammates, Jiang Yanjiao and Wang Xin respectively.

By EeLyn Ooi, Badzine Correspondent. Photos: BadmintonPhoto (live from Shanghai)

Jan Jorgensen (pictured) had a beleaguered Chen Jin on the ropes when, leading 20-19 in the third game, the Dane rushed an easy smash into the net.

"I said to myself. Oh no, don’t waste this chance to win like this!" said Jan afterward. "But I immediately refocused on the next point, trying not to make mistakes. This last year has taught me to cope with such situations. I would have never been able to do that last year. And then, I finally nailed the last point, and I can’t describe how it felt. Beating Lee Chong Wei was already a dream come true for me, so, beating my first good Chinese, here in China, it’s just amazing. I can’t find any words right now."

Jorgensen's historic victory over Chen Jin came after three long games spanning 67 minutes and finally ended 11-21, 21-18, 22-20. Jan benefitted an injury to the Chinese star, sustained in the second part of the second game, which saw Chen limping, hardly able to run in the last few points, yet as Chen was still able to build up quite a strong lead in each game, the match provided lots of suspense before Jorgensen clinched his first ever Super Series final ticket.

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Awaiting the young Dane in the finals is none other than Olympic champion Lin Dan, (pictured) whom Jorgensen acknowledges to be the toughest opponent in the men’s singles discipline at the moment.

"It was very difficult to play against Chen Jin. I knew he was injured and I knew I had all the chances to win. I started catching back and things started going around in my head, like playing Lin Dan in the final," said Jan, clearly revealing his excitement about meeting Super Dan in the latter’s home country.

Winning without much sweat against Park Sung Hwan, Lin Dan smashed the Korean’s hopes of regaining status as his nemesis, ending Park’s final Super Series of the year with a dominating 21-10, 21-11 win.

Jiang and Wang to meet in final

Seeing the fiery games in the ground of the men’s singles, the ladies were not to be outdone. With all the youth and height on the Chinese women's singles squad, it was actually two of the oldest and shortest who finally booked their spots for Sunday. Unfortunately for Wang Shixian, who had a fine start in Shanghai by defeating three higher ranked players along the way, she was finally outplayed by her compatriot Jiang Yanjiao in two straight games of 21-17, 21-14. Meanwhile, qualifier Li Xuerui, who also cleared two of the biggest names from the draw, had no way to get through Wang Xin as she backed off in two games of 19-21.

Wang Xin is the only finalist who participated in the carnage of the top seeds. Wang defeated former world #1 Tine Rasmussen along the way, before successfully arriving in the finals to have a taste of the match against the only slightly younger Jiang Yanjiao, who will finish this tournament without playing a single seeded player.

After defeating two Taiwan pairs in a row, Malaysia’s Chin Eei Hui / Wong Pei Tty saw their way blocked by China's Tian Qing / Zhang Yawen. Tian/Zhang, who had just finished with a pair of triumphs over two of their fellow Chinese pairs, enjoyed better luck as they halted Chin/Wong 21-17, 21-8 in 40 minutes. In the other semi-final, Olympic gold medallists Du Jing / Yu Yang, who had a smooth journey into the semi-finals, maintained their status as they bid farewell to Ma Jin/Wang Xiaoli in two games, exacting payback for their defeat in last weekend's final in Hong Kong.

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Double treat for Yong Dae

As consolation to Ma Jin for her defeat in the women’s doubles, she had a walkover with mixed doubles partner Zheng Bo against Zhang Nan / Zhao Yunlei. Perhaps it was calculated move by China to send Zheng/Ma into the finals as the other finalists, Lee/Lee of Korea have yet to experience a single victory over this Chinese pair. Lee/Lee had a slight bump against Anugritayawon/Voravichitchaikul when the Thais overtook them in the second game and saved a match point before winning it 22-20 to extend the match. However, the Koreans managed to regain their fair state as they cast their opponents far behind in the rubber set, easily taking the game 21-15.

It seemed to be a day of twist and turns for Lee Yong Dae. After the bumpy ride with the Thais in his mixed doubles match, Lee and Jung boarded the next roller-coaster ride in the men’s doubles against Denmark’s Boe/Mogensen. In fact, it was the same pattern as the Koreans took the first game, blew a lead to lose the second and played the third one with trembling yet determined hands. The Danes were leading nearly throughout the deciding game, before Lee/Jung (photo) finally clinched the match point ending it by a dangerously close 23-21.

Interestingly, Lee also made both doubles finals back in the first Super Series event of the year in Malaysia and has now repeated the feat in the last one in Shanghai. However, what he will really be hoping for is a repeat of last year's China Open, the last time he emerged as a double-titlist. Lee/Jung now find Malaysian sweethearts Koo/Tan as their only remaining obstacles int their attempt to finish the 2009 Super Series with bookend men’s doubles titles. Koo and Tan had an easy win in the showdown against Taiwan’s dark horses Chen/Lin in their semi-final match today.

For complete semi-final results from the 2009 Li Ning China Open Super Series, CLICK HERE

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