Momota, Chen Long, advance to 2nd round of BWF Indonesia Masters, Son Wan upset

Speed Post News Network

Patna : World No 1 in Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings Kento Momota, 24, Japan, World No 5 and reigning Olympic Champion Chen Long, 30, China, and World No 6 Viktor Axelsen, 25, Denmark, advanced to the second round of BWF Daihatsu Indonesia Masters 2019 on January 23, 2019, at Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia, but World No 20 Anders Antonsen, Denmark, stunned World No 4 Son Wan Ho, 27, South Korea.

Reigning World Champion and top seed Kento Momota beat World No 23 Jan O Jorgensen, 23, Denmark, in straight games 22-20, 21-11 in 39 minutes in the first round. Momota won 43 rallies in the match to 31 by Jorgensen. Both the players won 5 consecutive points each in the match. Momota now leads Jorgensen 4-3 head to head.

Chen Long beat World No 22 B Sai Praneeth, 26, India, 21-12, 21-16 in 40 minutes in the first round to advance to the second round. Chen Long won 42 rallies in the match to 28 by Praneeth. Long won 5 consecutive points during the match to 3 by Praneeth. Chen Long leads Praneeth 2-0 head to head.

Axelsen, a former World No 1, beat World No 49 Subhankar Dey, a qualifier, in a three-game thriller 21-14, 19-21, 21-15 in 61 minutes in the first round. Dey lost the first game but rallied back strongly to win the second game but then lost the third game in a close contest. Dey gave Axelsen a run for his money though. Axelsen won 61 rallies in the match to 50 by Dey. Axelsen won 8 consecutive points in the match to 5 by Dey.

But, World No 4 Son Wan Ho, winner of the BWF Malaysia Masters on January 20, 2019, suffered a shock defeat at the hand of World No 20 Anders Antonsen in the first round. Antonsen upset Son Wan in three-games 21-17, 6-21, 21-15 in 65 minutes in the first round. Antonsen won 48 rallies in the match to 53 by Son Wan. Antonsen won 4 consecutive points in the match to 9 by Son Wan. Son Wan leads Antonsen 2-1 head to head.