LEE Chong Wei surrendered his Japan Open crown tamely to Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro while women’s doubles Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui also stumbled at the final hurdle in Tokyo yesterday.

An off-colour Chong Wei turned in a disappointing performance to allow Sony to clinch a 21-17, 21-11 win in 40 minutes.

Sony thus avenged his 21-9, 21-11 loss to the World No 1 in the quarter-finals of last month’s Beijing Olympics. Pei Tty-Eei Hui, who have never won a grand prix or a Super Series title, let slip their best opportunity yesterday against China’s back-up pair of Cheng Shu-Zhao Yunlei losing 21-19, 5-21, 21-18 in 54 minutes.

It was Cheng Shu-Yunlei’s first appearance in a major final while it was Pei Tty-Eei Hui’s fourth defeat in a final having lost in the 2005 Indonesia and Dutch Opens as well as this year’s Thailand Open.

However, it was Chong Wei’s defeat which was really disappointing although the Malaysian was struggling throughout the tournament.

Chong Wei did have chances of putting Sony under pressure when leading 16-12 in the first game but allowed the Indonesian to earn five points on the trot to 17-16.

Sony conceded one more point before wrapping up the first game and was never threatened after that.

Chong Wei, in a telephone interview from Tokyo, said his preparations for the tournament wasn’t good enough and that he was not fully fit. “The amount of training I had for the tournament was not sufficient. Also, the celebrations and special functions (after his silver medal in Beijing) disrupted my preparations,” said Chong Wei, who added that he also lost a few days of training as he was down with a fever.

“I was struggling in this tournament and today (yesterday) Sony pushed me against the wall. I was tired and couldn’t recover after several long rallies.

“I will return to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow (today) and start training. I haven’t withdrawn from the Macau Open (beginning on Sept 30) and I have to see how the training goes in the next week.”

Chong Wei has skipped the Chinas Masters which begins in Changzhou tomorrow and the only reason he is competing in the Macau Open is to safeguard his World No 1 status.

However, Chong Wei may opt to withdraw from the Macau Open as well as it’s tough to improve on one’s fitness in just a week.

Meanwhile, Danish veterans Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen captured their second title in as many weeks when they beat rising Indonesian pair Muhammad Ahsan-Bona Septano 21-17, 15-21, 21-13 in 52 minutes.

Paaske-Rasmussen, who reached the semi-finals of the Olympics, won the Taiwan Open last week.

China’s back-up player Wang Yihan clinched her first Super Series crown when she beat Hong Kong’s Zhou Mi 21-19, 17-21, 21-15 in the women’s singles final.

The mixed doubles crown went to Indonesia’s Muhammad Rijal-Vita Marissa who upset top-seeded compatriots Nova Widianto-Lilyana Natsir 14-21, 21-15, 21-19.

RESULTS — (All Finals) Men’s Singles: Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Ina) bt Lee Chong Wei (Mas) 21-17, 21-11; Doubles: Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen (Den) bt Muhammad Ahsan-Bona Septano (Ina) 21-17, 15-21, 21-13.

Women’s singles: Wang Yihan (Chn) bt Zhou Mi (HK) 21-19, 17-21, 21-15; Doubles: Cheng Shu-Zhao Yunlei (Chn) bt Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui (Mas) 21-19, 5-21, 21-18.

Mixed Doubles: Muhammad Rijal-Vita Marissa (Ina) bt Nova Widianto-Lilyana Natsir (Ina) 14-21, 21-15, 21-19.

Article source:

The New Straits Times