SURABAYA (Indonesia), Aug 31: Unseeded Chen Hong of China beat his younger compatriot Bao Chunlai Saturday to set up a final against local hero Taufik Hidayat in the Indonesian Open in Surabaya.

“There is a very good crowd here in Indonesia. And I am ready to take on my opponent who will have the public behind him,” a relaxed Chen Hong said after giving Bao a lesson on how to deal with off-court conditions.

“It was very windy today, and I just think that I was able to control the shuttle better than Bao. And more over I came on court full of confidence because we often play together during training and I usually beat him,” Chen said.

The Singapore Open Champion made light work of the former World Junior Champion, outplaying him for a final 15-10, 15-2.

Taufik Hidayat advanced to the final after overcoming his elder compatriot Rony Agustinus. The match was without long rallies as both players scored on high jump smashes or by putting the shuttle outside.

The more experienced Hidayat took the match 15-12, 15-9 with many unforced errors from Agustinus in the beginning of the second game.

In the mixed doubles semifinal, Indonesia’s Nova Widianto and Marisa Vita delighted the packed Kertajaya Hall when they beat top-seeded Jens Eriksen and Mette Schjoldager from Denmark in a tight two-game match (13-10, 11-7).

And Minarti Timur and Trikus Haryanto made sure there would be an Indonesian pair to win a gold medal in the final when they beat Olympic Champions Gao Ling and Zhang Jun from China in the closest match of the evening, coming back from 7-9 to 11-9 in the deciding game.

Quarterfinal results:

Men’s singles: Rony Agustinus (Indnesia) beat 10-Boonsak Ponsana (Thailand) 15-12, 11-15, 15-11; 7-Taufik Hidayat (Indonesia) beat Sairul Ayob (Malaysia) 12-15, 15-13, 15-6; 4-Bao Chunlai (China) beat Taufiq Akbar Hidayat (Indonesia) 15-9, 15-8; Chen Hong (China) beat Sonny Dwi Kuncoro (Indonesia) 15-5, 15-9.

Men’s doubles: Halim Haryanto and Trikus Haryanto (Indonesia) beat 1-Jens Ericksen and Martin Lundgaard Hansen (Denmark) 9-15, 15-13, 15-3; 4-Lee Dong Soo and Yoo Yong Sung (South Korea) beat 6-Tesana Teerawiwatana and Pramote Panvisvas (Thailand) 15-10, 15-5; Flandi Limpele and Eng Hian (England) beat 8-Zhang Wei and Zhang Jun (China) 15-5, 15-8; Sigit Budiarto and Candra Wijaya (Indonesia) beat 5-Jim Laugesen and Jesper Larsen (Denmark) 10-15, 15-4, 15-9.—AFP