JAKARTA — Chen Long and Carolina Marin enjoyed contrasting semifinal victories on a good day for the top seeds and defending title holders at the Badminton World Championships Saturday. China's Chen has seized the mantle of the sport's most dominant player from compatriot Lin Dan since claiming a maiden world crown in Copenhagen a year ago and the 26-year-old appears to be in no mood to relinquish his title in Jakarta. The lanky world No. 1 was simply too quick and strong for Japanese fourth seed Kento Momota as he raced through to the final in less than an hour with a dominant 21-9, 21-15 triumph. Facing Chen in Sunday's final will be Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, who set up a repeat of last year's title match with a impressive 21-7, 21-19 victory over Danish second seed Jan O. Jorgensen. Marin, meanwhile, came through a war of attrition against Korea's Sung Ji-hyun to claim a pulsating 21-17, 15-21, 21-16 victory in a marathon encounter that ebbed and flowed through a series of momentum shifts. The Spaniard was a surprise champion as ninth seed a year ago but has since risen to the top of the rankings with a game built on confidence, athleticism and a never-say-die attitude. Marin took the first game comfortably, stumbled in the second and appeared distracted in the decider as her exhausted opponent forged a 13-8 lead when the Spaniard floundered at the net. Sensing her grip on the title was weakening, Marin summoned one last push against the flagging Sung and rode a 10-point surge of momentum into the final with a series of smashes and drop shots. In the final on Sunday, Marin will face Indian second seed Saina Nehwal, who beat Lindaweni Fanetri 21-17, 21-17. Chen awaits the winner of the second men's semifinal between Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia and Danish second seed Jan O. Jorgensen. In the mixed doubles, defending champions Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei saved two match points before overcoming local favorites Tantowi Ahmad and Lilyana Natsir 20-22, 23-21, 21-12 to set up an all-Chinese final against Liu Cheng and Bao Yixin. The double world champions looked beaten midway through the second game but the top seeds dug deep into their considerable resources to slowly rein in their opponents and silence a raucous home crowd before claiming victory in 92 minutes. Fourth seeds Liu and Bao are former world junior champions and advanced to their first senior global final with an upset 21-13 15-21 21-19 triumph against second-ranked compatriots Xu Chen and Ma Jin in the opening match of the day. — Reuters
