KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian pair Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi stormed into the final of the Badminton Asia Championships in the United Arab Emirates after a hard-fought victory over Japan’s Takuro Hoki-Yugo Kobayashi today.
Yew Sin-Ee Yi, ranked number eight in the world, beat fourth seeded Takuro-Yugo 21-16, 26-24 in 50 minutes.
The Malaysians were dominant in the first game but it was neck and neck in the second game until the Japanese pulled away to an 18-14 lead.
However, the Malaysians fought back and levelled the score at 18-18, which saw Ee Yi bruising his left knee after falling while returning a shot.
Yew Sin-Ee Yi eventually took the game to deuce before winning to register only their second win in eight matches against the Japanese pair.
In the final tomorrow, Yew Sin-Ee Yi will play the winners of the other semi-final between India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Sheety and Lee Yang-Wang Chi Lin of Taiwan.
Malaysia’s mixed-doubles pair crashed out at the semi-finals against the defending champions from China.
Independent players Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Jemie Lai, found Zheng Si Wei-Huang Ya Qiong of China too strong.
The world ranked number eight Soon Huat-Shevon lost 11-21, 13-21 to the 2020 Olympics silver medallists. The Malaysians have lost all their 10 matches against the Chinese pair so far.
Top seeds Si Wei-Ya Qiong will meet teammates Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin in the final.