Seventh seed Lin Dan survived a scare from Japan’s Riichi Takeshita to win his Chinese Taipei Open semi-final in three tight sets at Taipei on Saturday. The Chinese star, who is looking to climb the BWF rankings by winning the Chinese Taipei Open title, was pushed to the limit before prevailing 21-15, 14-21, 21-18 in 65 minutes.
Takeshita trailed 11-3 in the first set, but he mounted a resilient comeback to close the gap to 11-8. Lin Dan then pulled away and eased to the opening set, winning 21-15.
Takeshita hit back in the second set. He attacked heavily to open up a 7-0 lead and held his nerve throughout. Lin Dan never found a way back level, and Takeshita took the set 21-14.
Takeshita Pushes Lin Dan to the Decider
In the decider, Takeshita showed guile and fighting spirit, refusing to wilt under the weight of Lin Dan’s powerful smashing. The unseeded player tied the score four different times. Lin Dan, however, roared back to fend off the Japanese challenger, closing out the match 21-18.
Lin Dan will face compatriot Wang Zhengming in the final. Wang knocked out Hong Kong’s Wei Nan in the other men’s singles semi-final, winning 21-18, 21-16.
Other Finals Line-Up
The other finals matchups set for the tournament are:
- Mixed doubles: Alfian Eko Prasetya and Annisa Saufika (Indonesia) vs. Liu Yuchen and Yu Xiaohan (China)
- Women’s singles: Sung Ji Hyun (Korea) vs. Liu Xin (China)
- Women’s doubles: Wang Xiaoli and Yang Wang (China) vs. Nitya Krishinda Maheswari and Greysia Polii (Indonesia)
- Men’s singles: Lin Dan (China) vs. Wang Zhengming (China)
- Men’s doubles: Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen (China) vs. Andrei Adistia and Hendra Aprida Gunawan (Indonesia)