In the first game, my shot struck Tago`s face."Semarang, Central Java (ANTARA News) - Indonesias Tommy Sugiarto moved to the mens singles final in the Maybank Malaysia Open 2014 after outplaying Kenichi Tago of Japan in the semifinal in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
Tommy, who is ranked fourth in the tournament, took 49 minutes to beat the worlds fifth-seeded Tago 21-13, 21-18.
With the victory, Tommy extended his head-to-head lead over Tago to 3-1. Tommy, the son of the 1983 world champion Icuk Sugiarto, secured his two triumphs against Tago in the group qualifying round and the next group in the BWF World Superseries Finals 2013.
According to the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) executive boards website, the Tommy-Tago match was marred by a minor incident which appeared to influence the Japanese shuttler.
"In the first game, my shot struck Tagos face. It seemed he was not happy with it. But I did not do it intentionally. As a matter of fact, we are close friends. Since then, Tago changed drastically, looked emotional and lost control," Tommy said.
In the finals of the badminton tournament, with a prize of US$500 thousand, Tommy will play against the winner of the match between first-seeded Lee Chung Wei of Malaysia and third-seeded Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark.
Tommy has never defeated the worlds first-seeded Lee Chong Wei in their eight previous matches. But if Jorgensen defeats the Chinese player, the Tommy-Jorgensen match will be the first of its kind.
(Reporting by Hernawan Wahyudono/Uu.INE/KR-BSR/A014)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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