(Beijing, October 13) In the second mixed doubles semifinal of the 2007 International Badminton Invitational Tournament held this evening, second-seeded Zhang Yawen/Xie Zhongbo shrugged off the challenge from unseeded Hong Jingyu/Bao Zilong with 21-7 and 21-9 to set up a final clash against Gao Ling/Zheng Bo tomorrow.

World No. 3 Zhang/Xie had achieved outstanding results in a number of major international competitions, while Hong/Bao was inferior in both techniques and game experienced. However, the unheralded pair had done well this time by fighting all the way to the semifinal.

Since the beginning of the match Zhang/Xie displayed excellent teamwork with well-organized attack and defense and soon gained a comfortable lead with 21-7.

The second game was still one-sided in favor of Zhang/Xie, who got the upper hand over their opponents despite the latter's flexible play and finished the game with 21-9.