Pair of Malaysian veterans continues miraculous play in Indonesia Open

Unseeded duo Lee Wan Wah/Choong Tan Fook of Malaysia continued to produce unpredicted wins in the six-star Indonesia Open badminton tournament and advanced to the semifinals by beating higher-ranking teammates Friday in Jakarta.

Their impressive play has begun since the opening day when they outplayed famous pair Flandy Limpele/Eng Hian of Indonesia.

After losing in the first game to the Indonesians, Lee/Choong miraculously came back from 8-14 to win the second game 17-15 despite discouraging shouting from the home crowd.

Having lost the precious match point, Flandy/Eng could not do much to overcome the Malaysians and surrendered 10-15 in the deciding game.

Lee and Choong, whose combined age is 59 years, again upset local spectators by beating world number three Luluk Hadiyanto/Alvent Yulianto, who is seeded second in the tournament, in rubber games, 15-5, 7-15, 15-12.

In the last-eight stage Friday, they beat teammates Koo Kien Keat/Chan Chong Ming in straight games 15-8, 15-7.

Lee/Choong could become a nightmare for the home squad if they overcame the third Indonesian duo, Markis Kidho and Hendra Setiawan, in the semifinals scheduled for Saturday.

Source: Xinhua