OLOMOUC, Czech Republic, Aug. 23-- The Chinese pair Gu Yuting/Mu Zi is now one step away from the top podium after defeating Chen Szu-Yu/Cheng Hsein-Tzu from Chinese Taipei 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 here on Friday in the women's doubles semifinal of ITTF World Tour Czech Open. After ejecting top seed Miyuu Kihara/Miyu Nagasaki from Japan on Thursday, the Chinese duo knocked down Yu Mengyu/Lin Ye from Singapore in the quarterfinal, and then the Chinese Taipei pair in the semi to advance to the final. As the last tournament champion of Bulgaria Open, Gu/Mu are now embracing the idea that they could take the whole thing. Their final opponent on Saturday is the third-seeded Hirano Miu/Shibata Saki from Japan. "We're feeling more comfortable today. Our team chemistry is getting better and better and our partnership is improving. Today it was a clean win for us. We will prepare for the final tomorrow and we will try our best," said Gu. It was a major shock for all fans in the crowd as Hirano Miu/Shibata Saki were pushed to the limit in a five-game crunch match-up with Poland's Natalia Bajor/Natalia Partyka. The Polish duo showed immense resistance against the Japanese, matching them shot for shot in each game. During the decider, the Polish were up by 9-6 before Hirano/Shibata grounded out a very important win 9-11, 11-2, 11-4, 9-11, 11-9. In the women's singles, Feng Yalan, He Zhuojia, Chen Xingtong and Liu Weishan outplayed their opponents to step forward to the quarters. |