Chou Tien Chen takes on compatriot Tzu Wei Wang in an all-Taiwanese Men's singles final of the 2017 German Open Grand Prix Gold in Mulheim on Sunday.
While big names from China, including reigning Olympic champion Chen Long and Lin Dan were expected to reach the final battle in Germany on their comeback this year, the Taiwanese duo have been consistent and toppled big names to survive until Sunday.
Chou, who went down to Lin Dan in the final last year, will look to clinch his first tile in Germany and the exits of top seeds would have given the sixth seed a lot of confidence. The world number nine faced tough battles against in-form shuttlers Brice Leverdez and Anders Antonsen but has been untroubled since the quarter-final, in which he outclassed Lin Dan-slayer Emil Host 21-10, 21-14 in just 37 minutes.
Takuma Ueda was again no match to the 27-year-old as he just needed 35 minutes to beat the Japanese shuttler and make his way into the final. The 2015 French Open winner will feel confident about his chances as well as he holds a 2-0 head-to-head advantage over Wang, whom he defeated in Mulheim last year.
However, 22-year-old Wang has been in good form recently reaching the final stages of tournaments he has been featuring in. He would be raring to take the court on Sunday especially after beating second-seeded Chen Long in a tightly-contested, hour-long semi-final clash on Saturday.
Wang opened the match by clinching the first set 21-18 but was outclassed in the second by Chen 8-21. However, the world number 25 held his nerves to beat the Chinese legend by taking the decider 21-18.
TV Schedule
India: Star Sports
Singapore: Hub Sports 3
Malaysia: Astro Supersport
