Malaysian Lee storms into India Open final

Top-seeded Malaysian Lee Chong Wei moved into the men's singles final of the India Open badminton tournament with a crushing 21-13, 21-7 win over Taiwan's Jen Hao Hsu on Saturday. Defending champion Lee, ranked number one in the world, gave no chance to his unseeded opponent as he needed just 33 minutes to clinch victory and set up the title clash with South Korean Wan Ho Shon. The South Korean, who defeated second-seeded Peter Gade of Denmark in the quarter-finals on Friday, had to work hard for his 21-14, 19-21, 21-16 victory over India's Parupalli Kashyap in the other semi-final. "I gained confidence after winning the second game, but missed crucial smashes in the decider," said Kashyap, who has already qualified for the London Olympics. "I wanted to win this match because I was keen to play the final, but did not gain the momentum and made a few unforced errors in the final game. I did well in the rallies, but missed smashes at crucial stages." In the women's singles semi-final, sixth-seeded German Juliane Schenk recorded an emphatic 21-16, 21-13 victory over unseeded Chinese Chen Xiao Jia in a 42-minute encounter. The German will now take on second-seeded Chinese Li Xuerui, who made it to the final after fourth-seeded Jiang Yanjiao of China pulled out of the tournament due to an ankle injury. "The way I played today will boost my confidence and I am now looking forward to the final," said Schenk. "It's always a challenge to face the Chinese players. I started aggressively and controlled the game from the beginning. I was confident after having beaten the top seed (Wang Shixian of China) on Friday."