Badminton: Antonsen through to Indonesia Masters semis
Defending champion Anders Antonsen of Denmark advanced to the Indonesia Masters semi-final Friday.
JAKARTA (AFP) - Defending champion Anders Antonsen of Denmark advanced to the Indonesia Masters semi-final Friday after beating hometown star Jonatan Christie.
Antonsen will meet Hong Kong s Lee Cheuk Yiu on Saturday at Istora Senayan stadium in the capital Jakarta.
The Dane upset Christie, the 2018 Asian Games men s champion, in a 21-14, 10-21 and 21-12 match that clocked in at one hour and eight minutes.
"I am happy to play so much against him. We have always a fun matches and he is a very good opponent. I am always enjoying our rivalry," Antonsen said after the match.
The Dane flagged his semi-final rival as a worthy adversary "who is doing really well at the moment".
"With so many good players left, right now I will focus on the match tomorrow and we will see if I can win that one," he added.
Despite hometown favourite Christie s loss, Indonesia managed to secure a place in the men s semi-final after 2018 Indonesia Masters champion Anthony Sinisuka Ginting beat China s Huang Yu Xiang 21-11, 21-14.
Ginting meets Denmark s Viktor Axelsen in the semi-final.
In women s singles, former world champion Carolina Marin from Spain secured a semi-final berth in a come back victory against South Korea s An Se Young at 21-17 and 21-6.
Marin, last year s runner up, will face He Bing Jiao from China on Saturday while Thailand s Ratchanok Intanon meets China s Wang Zhi Yi.
The Indonesian tournament will not feature Badminton world number one Kento Momota after the Japanese was injured in a car crash that killed his driver and left him with minor injuries in Kuala Lumpur.
