In Tokyo, Chinese mainland shuttlers clinched spots in four of the five finals at the BWF Japan Open after Saturday’s semifinals. Their only miss came in men’s doubles, where Malaysia and the Republic of Korea advanced.
In men’s singles, Shi Yuqi emerged as the top remaining male seed after early upsets, dominating France’s Christo Popov 21-12, 28-26. Shi, who bounced back from a challenging season of gastrointestinal issues, saved three game points in the second set. He now faces defending champion Alex Lanier of France for the title.
The women’s singles final features the top two seeds: Republic of Korea’s World No.1 An Se-young, who defeated Japan’s Riko Gunji 21-12, 21-10, and Wang Zhiyi from the Chinese mainland, who edged home favorite Akane Yamaguchi 21-15, 21-18.
In women’s doubles, Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning overpowered compatriots Zhang Shuxian and Zheng Yu 21-7, 21-16. They’ll battle Malaysia’s Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan for the crown.
Mixed doubles saw Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin dispatch Malaysia’s Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei 21-12, 21-16. The Chinese mainland duo will challenge Thailand’s Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran in Sunday’s final.
While the men’s doubles title fight is a battle between Malaysia and the Republic of Korea, the Chinese mainland hopes for a clean sweep rest on Shi, An, Wang, Liu, Tan, Jiang and Wei. Can they convert four final berths into four trophies?
Reference(s):
Chinese badminton players reach finals in four events at Japan Open
cgtn.com
