Taufik takes on Shon

Taufik had little trouble dispatching his Thai opponent

Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat and South Korean Shon Seung-Mo are set to battle it out for badminton gold after winning their singles semi-finals.

Unseeded Taufik, a quarter-finalist in Sydney four years ago, eased past Thailand's Ponsana Boonsak 15-9 15-2.

Seventh seed Shon became the first Korean to reach an Olympic men's single final when he beat Indonesian eighth seed Soni Dwi Kuncoro 15-6 9-15 15-9.

"I'm full of emotion, I've made history," he said afterwards.

Shon, who is partially sighted after being struck in the right eye by a shuttlecock when he was 15, certainly had his work cut out for him against his Indonesian opponent.

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Soni Dwi fought back from a game down to set up a tense decider.

He trailed 10-5 in the decider but reduced the deficit to one point, only for Shon to produce a late surge to clinch the match.

Taufik, who knocked out Malaysian third seed Wong Choon-Han and Danish sixth seed Peter Gade on his way to the last four, had less trouble against Ponsana.

The 22-year-old unseeded Thai was unable to maintain his solid start and a string of unforced errors allowed Taufik to take control of the match.

"Ponsana is a difficult opponent, but today he made many mistakes," said Taufik, hoping to emulate compatriot Allan Budi Kusama who took gold in the men's singles in Barcelona 12 years ago.