Axelsen powers into Indonesia Open final, An crashes out

Jakarta: Badminton world number one Viktor Axelsen beat H S Prannoy on Saturday to secure his spot in the Indonesia Open final, but South Korea’s rising star An Se-young crashed out.
Danish star Axelsen, who has won the tournament two years running, will have a chance to add another to his trophy case in Sunday’s final after overcoming India’s Prannoy 21-15, 21-15 in 46 minutes.
“To be able to play final at Istora was one of my biggest, you know, dreams as a teenager,” the 29-year-old told reporters after the match.
“So to be here now, in the final again, it’s just unbelievable.”
Axelsen will face either world number two and hometown hero Anthony Sinisuka Ginting or China’s Li Shi Feng, who were scheduled to play their semi-final later Saturday.
The hot streak of South Korea’s An Se Young was brought to a stunning halt by China’s Chen Yu Fei, ranked fourth in the world, who beat the in-form world number two in two straight games.
Chen rushed out of the gates, taking the first game 21-8 - the lowest An has scored in a game all year - before securing her ticket to the final by winning the second 21-17.
“In the first game I played more patiently, and I think my opponent might be tired as her tempo was a bit slow,” Chen told reporters.
She will face Spain’s Carolina Marin, who overcame Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon 21-12, 21-11.
“I’m really, really happy to reach a final after a long time,” the 29-year-old Spanish star told reporters.
“As I said yesterday, it’s just to keep the focus in the right way. This is what I’m doing and I feel really happy.”
Marin returned to the court in May after suffering a horror knee injury that kept her out of action for over a year and forced her to miss the Tokyo Olympics. (AFP)