Praveen, Debby Advance to Australian Open Finals
Jakarta. Indonesian mixed pair badminton stars Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto defeated South Korean rivals Kim Dokyoung and Kim Ha Na on Saturday (24/06) to advance to the final round in the Crown Group Australian Badminton Open in Sydney, Australia.
The seventh-seeded pair needed 43 minutes to beat their opponent in straight sets, 21-19, 21-16, according to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super Series website.
Praveen and Debby will challenge China's first-seeded pair Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen, who in the semifinal round eliminated compatriots Wang Yiyu and Huang Dongping in rubber sets 21-13, 19-21, 23-21.
Praveen and Debby are the only Indonesian pair left in the tournament after 2016 Olympic champion and 2017 Indonesia Open champions Tontowi Ahmad and Lilyana Natsir lost in the first round.
Hendra Setiawan and Malaysian Boon Heong Tan will face Chinese pair Liu Cheng and Zhang Na for a place in the men's double finals later on Saturday.
In other semifinal matches already completed, Indian champion Kidambi Srikanth advanced to the men's singles final after beating fourth-seeded Chinese Shi Yuqi in straight sets, 21-10, 21-14.
Srikanth will face the world number six Chen Long from China in the final.
Japanese players dominated the women's singles semifinals, with Akane Yamaguchi beating Taiwanese Tai Tzu Ying and Nozomi Okuhara defeating Chinese Sun Yu in rubber.
All finals are scheduled to take place on Sunday.
The Australian Open is one of 12 elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the BWF for professional athletes around the world.
Sydney based property company Crown Group — whose Indonesian co-founder Paul Sathio is known as avid supporter of the sport — is the title sponsor for this year's tournament.
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