All England: He/Tan Spoil Indonesia’s Party
Indonesia’s shot at having all four semifinalists in men’s doubles went awry in the last match, with China’s He Ji Ting/Tan Qiang recovering to beat Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin in three games.
· DEV SUKUMAR
Until then it had all gone Indonesia’s way, with Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri/Bagas Maulana taking their semifinal spots.
Fikri/Maulana’s was the most exciting of those quarterfinals, with the world No.28 duo edging world champions Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi 16-21 21-16 22-20 after saving three match points. The challengers shot ahead with five straight points from 17-20 down to make their first semifinal at an event of this level.
“We just kept fighting hard,” said Fikri. “Tomorrow we play the Minions. We practice together, so we know their strengths and weaknesses. We have mixed results during training. We have won some and lost some. We believe we can win.”