Chen, Lee stay on collision course

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Top seed Chen Hong of China and second ranked Lee
Chong Wei of Malaysia stayed on course for a dream
title showdown in the men’s singles although they had
to go through some anxious moments before pulling
through late Friday.

Chen, seeking a second Grand Prix Gold tournament in
three weeks, found Taufik Hidayat’s tormentor a tough
nut to crack. But the world No. 2 recovered in time to
turn back Vietnamese Nguyen Tien Minh, 17-21, 21-19,
21-15, to clinch the first semis berth.

Lee, on the other hand, struggled in the early going,
needing extra points to hold off Chinese Weijie Gong
in the first set before displaying his fine form to
complete a 23-21, 21-11 victory in the lower half of
the draw.

Chen, 28, faces No. 9 Sung Hwan Park in the semis
after the Korean pulled off a stunning upset victory
over No. 4 and MVP Cup veteran Kenneth Jonassen,
21-19, 22-20, in 40 minutes of top-notch badminton
action.

Lee, on the other hand, drew another Indon bet in Sony
Dwi Kuncoro, ranked sixth in the $120,000 event
sponsored by Bingo Bonanza Corp. and organized by IMG,
who blasted Singapore’s Ronald Susilo, 21-14, 21-13,
in the other quarterfinal duel.

Quarterfinal matches being played at presstime are the
women’s and men’s doubles.