Jakarta: The “dark horse” of the tournament named Brian Yang from Canada made it to the finals of the Indonesian Badminton Super 500 on Saturday. The 22-year-old, ranked 24th globally, faced Indonesia’s world no. 4 Anthony Ginting Sinisuka in the semi-finals. Despite losing the first game 13-21, Yang staged a strong comeback, winning the next two games 21-17, 21-19. This achievement marked his career-best by reaching his first final of a Super 500 event, surpassing his previous record of reaching the semi-finals in the 2022 India Super 500.
Highlights of Brian Yang vs. Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in the 2024 Indonesia Masters semi-final:
“I thought it was a very good match. We both played very well, and in the end the opponent’s tactics were very good, but I think I was better prepared to block him, starting from the second game,” said Yang after the match.
When asked whether the cheers from the home fans at Istora had caused him to be playing under pressure, Yang admitted that he felt fine and enjoyed the match.
“I’m fine with the crowd in the arena. To be honest, maybe Ginting is the one getting more pressure because everyone is supporting him. As we know, the atmosphere is crazy!” added Yang.
“But, again, everyone handles pressure in different ways, and I think I was able to deal with it a little better today,” explained Yang.
Before Saturday’s victory, Yang’s journey in this tournament includes eliminating three other world’s top-10 players, world no. 3 Li Shifeng from China and world no. 8 HS Prannoy from India, in the early rounds. In the quarter-finals, he received a walkover as Malaysia’s world no. 10 Lee Zii Jia had to withdraw midway due to food poisoning after losing the first game 14-21.
Yang, who has yet to win a title in the BWF World Tour event, will face Denmark’s Anders Antonsen in the Sunday final.
In a breakout year, Denmark’s Anders Antonsen has thus far reached the finals of two tournaments in 2024 and won one of them – the 2024 Malaysia Open. He is now just one step away from securing his second title in 2024. Ranked 7th globally, Antonsen breezed through the men’s singles semi-final at the Indonesia Masters by defeating Thailand’s world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-14, 21-8.
In the men’s doubles final, Indonesia’s 11th-ranked Leo Rolly Carnando/Daniel Marthin will face Denmark’s 4th-ranked Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen.
China continues to assert dominance in badminton, with representatives in three additional finals. Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong will compete against Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa/Natsu Saito in the mixed doubles final, and Zhang Shu Xian/Zheng Yu will face fellow Chinese duo Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning in the women’s doubles final.
In women’s singles, Japan’s 2017 world champion Nozomi Okuhara, showing signs of recovery, advances to the final against China’s Wang Zhi Yi.
