Indonesia's Santoso keeps giant-killing run

Simon Santoso continued his giant-killing run by beating fellow Indonesian defending champion Soni Dwi Kuncoro at the Japan Open badminton tournament on Friday.

Simon Santoso of Indonesia reacts after his winning point in an earlier match. Santoso continued his giant-killing run by beating fellow Indonesian defending champion Soni Dwi Kuncoro at the Japan Open badminton tournament on Friday.

Unseeded Santoso -- who eliminated world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the third round on Thursday -- pulled off a 21-16, 21-17 victory over fifth-seeded Kuncoro in the men's singles quarter-finals.

"I'm very, very happy to beat him for the first time, because he is a big senior in Indonesia," Santoso said. "I was able to keep myself calm today, while Soni made several mistakes. That resulted in this victory."

Kuncoro said of his younger teammate: "He can hit the shuttle to an unexpected course, he can hit any kind of shots. That is his biggest weapon."

With the win, Santoso set up a semi-final clash against Athens Olympic gold medallist Taufik Hidayat, who beat 2008 Asian champion Park Sung-Hwan of South Korea 12-21, 28-26, 21-15.

"Of course, I want to beat him, because I lost to him in the semi-finals two years ago. This is one of the most important tournaments in the Super Series for everybody. Hopefully I can move another step forward," Santoso said.

Hidayat, who saved two match points in the second game, defeated his South Korean challenger in 75 minutes.

"The second game was very close, repeating deuces seven times. It was a mental strength that decided the winner of the game, not technique," Hidayat said.

"I was still feeling I can win at match points down. I've never won this tournament, but I have the chance to win it as Lee and Peter (Gade) were already out and (China's) Lin Dan didn't come," he added.

Two-time Japan Open champion Gade, from Denmark, fell victim to 2009 Asian champion Bao Chunlai of China 21-17, 21-14.

"It was difficult, because he (Gade) is an aggressive player," Bao said. "I just played patient. He tried hard to come back by hitting hard, I just tried to hit it back. That's the key to the victory."

In the semi-finals, Bao will take on Tien Minh Nguyen of Vietnam, who beat Japan's Kazuteru Kozai 21-14, 21-16.