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Sunday November 22, 2009

Delighted Jorgensen sets up final clash with Lin Dan

By CHOW HOW BAN

SHANGHAI: Danish shuttler Jan O Jorgensen is on cloud nine again after claiming another big scalp in the China Open here, beating homester Chen Jin to march into the final.

The 21-year-old unseeded player, who had beaten top seed Lee Chong Wei and Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand, defeated the fourth seeded Chinese 11-21, 21-18, 22-20.

Danish delight: Jan O Jorgensen downed Chen Jin and will face Lin Dan (below, right) for the China Open crown.

“It’s great to make it to the final in Asia and here in China, which you can say is the nation of badminton. This is my first win over a Chinese player and it feels so good,” said the second-ranked Danish player after Peter Gade-Christensen.

“Tomorrow I can only dream of winning and it will be really tough to play against Lin Dan, who is probably the best player ever in men’s singles.”

Lin Dan defeated South Korean Park Sung-hwan 21-10, 21-11 in the other semi-final.

Chen Jin suffered from cramps midway through the second game but chose not to concede a walkover. He fought until the end to the cheers of the home crowd. Limping and hanging on to the last points, he could still deliver some cross smashes to put pressure on Jorgensen.

“It’s tough to play against a player who is injured,” said the Dane.

“You think a lot about what you do and how you have to play him. It was a bit more annoying when he just flew up and did the cross smashes. He is a good fighter. He fights for every shot and hats off to him.”

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