Badminton: Valiant Kiwis bow out in semifinals

No New Zealanders will feature in the five finals at the US$50,000 Equinox New Zealand Badminton Open in Auckland. But the lack of Kiwis on the last day is an indication of the depth of the tournament which has taken on a high ranking on the world circuit.

The Kiwi duo of Craig Cooper and Daniel Shirley were close but seemed to always be playing catch-up in their match against the Indonesians, Eng Hian and Rian Sukmawan. They weren't overawed by the second seeds but made a number of unforced errors that cost them the game. They will be disappointed with their effort, losing in straight sets 21-17, 21-14.

The other Kiwi combination in the semifinals, husband and wife duo Geoff and Rebecca Bellingham, tried hard but were knocked out by the top seeds Saputra and Li 21-9, 21-9. The Singaporeans were far too consistent for the New Zealand couple, who have now retired.

Former world No 6 Ronald Susilo (Sing) will face unseeded Tsuen Seng Lee (Mal) in the singles final after accounting for Yen Hui Kendrick Lee (Sing) in an explosive match in three sets. Lee challenged Susilo by winning the second game with some well-placed drop shots.

Forced to step up his game, Susilo came back firing in the third, with speed and accuracy of shot that Lee could not match.

Susilo, who is coming back from a ruptured achilles injury, has been out of action for a while: "My last final was in 2004 but my leg is feeling good."

Tsuen Seng Lee defeated second seed Andrew Smith from England 25-23, 21-17 in another tight encounter.

Chia Chi Huang, the Taipei player now hoping to represent Australia, surprised third seed Li Li of Singapore, a former Commonwealth Games gold medallist, to make the final against fourth seed Aiying Xing (Singapore) who beat Yoshimi Hayata (Japan)in straight games.

Huang's win was the longest of the tournament so far with the heavily strapped Australian victorious 27-25, 23-25, 22-20 in one hour 18 minutes.