TOP mixed doubles pair Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying experienced their easiest match in the Maybank Malaysian Open as they cruised past team-mates Tan Aik Quan-Lai Pei Jing to reach the semi-finals at the Putra Stadium, Bukit Jalil yesterday.

In what was probably nothing more than a training routine, Peng Soon-Liu Ying won 21-13, 21-14.

The world No. 3 ranked Peng Soon-Liu Ying were made to go the distance in the first two round, first beating Sudket Prapakamol-Duangnong Aroonkesorn of Thailand and then Danes Mads Pieler Kolding-Kamilla Rytter Juhl.

This time, up against their younger team-mates who were making their first Super Series quarter-finals appearance, Peng Soon-Liu Ying were merciless and went on the offensive right from the start.

They established huge leads early in both the first and second game and by the time Aik Quan-Pei Jing woke up from their slumber, it was far too late as the tournament top seeds duly sealed their spot in the last four in just 30 minutes.

Peng Soon-Liu Ying have now equalled last year’s feat of making the semis and will certainly be determined to go one step further.

“I think Aik Quan-Pei Jing showed us too much respect and as a result they were unable to play to their full potential,” said Peng Soon.

“But they’re actually a good pair too. They just need to play in more tournaments in order to improve.

“As for us, it’s good to get our confidence back after disappointing performances in the Super Series Finals last month and the Korean Open last week.

“But now that we’ve reached the semis again, I’m really fired up to reach the final this time because this is good chance for us to win the tournament. Furthermore, what drives us is the motivation to become the first Malaysian pair to win a Super Series title at home,” added Peng Soon.

Peng Soon-Liu Ying will next face Poland’s Robert Mateusiak-Nadiezda Zieba for a place in tomorrow’s final.

The other semi-final will be between second seeds Joachim Fischer Nielsen-Christinna Pedersen of Denmark and Indonesian qualifiers Praveen Jordan-Vita Marissa.

In women’s singles, top seed Saina Nehwal of India got lucky after her opponent, the reigning world junior champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan, retired whilst trailing 11-21, 21-14, 0-2, due to a knee injury.

But it was an emotional end for two-time champion Tine Baun of Denmark who was soundly beaten by Taiwanese teenage sensation Tai Tzu Ying.

Baun, having made clear her intentions to retire in March was close to tears as she bade farewell to one of her favourite tournaments.

“I did not expect to win my first round match as I was ill. But having made the quarter-finals, I badly wanted to win,” said Baun.

“Unfortunately it was not to be as my opponent was simply too good. I’m really going to miss Malaysia as I really have a lot of good memories here. Hopefully I’ll return here one day for a vacation.”

QUARTER-FINALS

·Men’s singles: Jan O Jorgensen (Den) bt Liew Daren (Mas) 19-21, 21-13, 21-17; Lee Chong Wei (Mas) bt Hu Yun (Hkg) 21-12, 21-9; Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Ina) bt Sho Sasaki (Jpn) 21-15, 21-12; Kenichi Tago (Jpn) bt Hans-Kristian Vittinghus (Den) 22-20, 21-19.

·Men’s doubles: Ko Sung-hyun-Lee Yong-dae (Kor) bt Hirokatsu Hashimoto-Noriyasu Hirata (Jpn) 21-14, 21-8; Mohd Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan (Ina) bt Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa (Jpn) 21-18, 21-15; Chai Biao-iu Xiaolong (Chn) bt Vladimir Ivanov-Ivan Sozonov (Rus) 17-21, 21-13, 22-20; Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah (Mas) bt Kang Ji-wook-Lee Sang-joon (Kor) 21-14, 21-16.

·Women’s singles: Saina Nehwal (Ind) bt Nozomi Okuhara (Jpn) 21-11, 14-21, 2-0 rtd; Yao Xue bt Deng Xuan (Chn) 21-8, 18-21, 21-12; Tai Tzu Ying (Tpe) bt Tine Baun (Den) 22-20, 21-15; Bae Yeon-ju (Kor) bt Minatsu Mitani (Jpn) 21-15, 21-17.

·Women’s doubles: Bao Yixin-Tian Qing (Chn) bt Christinna Pedersen-Kamilla Rytter Juhl (Den) 21-10, 21-18; Shinta Mulia Sari-Yao Lei (Sin) bt Reika Kakiiwa-Miyuki Maeda (Jpn) 13-21, 21-14, 21-16; Misaki Matsutomo-Ayaka Takahashi (Jpn) bt Ko A-ra-Yoo Hae-won (Kor) 13-21, 21-16, 21-14; Aprilsasi Putri Lejarsar Variella-Vita Marissa (Ina) bt Pradnya Gadre-Ashwini Ponnappa (Ind) 18-21, 21-13, 21-13.

·Mixed doubles: Joachim Fischer Nielsen-Christinna Pedersen (Den) bt Anders Kristiansen-Julie Houmann (Den) 22-20, 21-12; Praveen Jordan-Vita Marissa (Ina) bt Zhang Nan-Tang Jinhua (Chn) 21-12, 21-19; Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying (Mas) bt Tan Aik Quan-Lai Pei Jing (Mas) 21-13, 21-14; Robert Mateusiak-Nadiezda Zieba (Pol) bt Danny Bawa Chrisnanta-Vanessa Neo Yu Yan (Sin) 21-11, 21-12.

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