Seventh seed Lin Dan survived a scare from Japan’s Riichi Takeshita before winning his Chinese Taipei Open semi-final in three tight sets at Taipei on Saturday. The Chinese player, who is looking to climb the BWF rankings by winning the Chinese Taipei Open title, was stretched to the limit before prevailing 21-15, 14-21, 21-18 in 65 minutes.
After trailing 11-3 in the first set, Takeshita put on a resilient performance to fight his way back to 11-8. Lin Dan proved too strong, however, and eased to the first set victory at 21-15.
Takeshita took the second set with heavy attacks, building a 7-0 lead over Lin Dan early on. He held his nerve, gave Lin Dan no chance to get back level and claimed the game 21-14.
Lin Dan Holds Off Takeshita in the Decider
In the decider, Takeshita showed guile and fighting spirit, refusing to wilt under the weight of Lin Dan’s sublime smashing. The unseeded Japanese player tied the score four different times in the game. The Olympic champion then roared back to fend off Takeshita at 21-18.
Lin Dan will face compatriot Wang Zhengming in the final. Wang knocked out Wei Nan of Hong Kong in the other men’s singles semi-final, winning 21-18, 21-16.
Finals Lineup
The Chinese Taipei Open finals are set as follows:
- Mixed doubles: Alfian Eko Prasetya and Annisa Saufika (Indonesia) vs Liu Yuchen and Yu Xiaohan (China)
- Women’s singles: Sung Ji Hyun (Korea) vs Liu Xin (China)
- Women’s doubles: Wang Xiaoli and Yang Wang (China) vs Nitya Krishinda Maheswari and Greysia Polii (Indonesia)
- Men’s singles: Lin Dan (China) vs Wang Zhengming (China)
- Men’s doubles: Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen (China) vs Andrei Adistia and Hendra Aprida Gunawan (Indonesia)