Axelsen, Shi reach semis of BWF World Tour Finals
HANGZHOU, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) — Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and home favorite Shi Yuqi both claimed 2-1 victories at the 2023 BWF World Tour Finals here on Friday, advancing to the men’s singles last four.
Shi persevered for one hour and 38 minutes to overcome Japan’s Kodai Naraoka 18-21, 23-21, 21-13 in Group A, leading the standings with two wins and one loss.
“This tough match taught me a lot, such as how to deal with difficulties on the court. I learned from yesterday’s loss and made targeted adjustments today, so I won,” commented Shi.
In a showdown with Indonesia’s Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, world No. 1 Axelsen rebounded after a 21-16 loss in the first game, dominating the subsequent games 21-7, 21-13 to secure the other semi berth for this group.
“I’m happy and relieved that I made it to the semifinals. I was not satisfied with my performance this week. I was making progress and got better in the second and third games today,” said the Dane.
In the women’s singles, Carolina Marin of Spain experienced an intense 70-minute battle to best Chen Yufei of China 25-23, 24-22, bagging her third consecutive win to progress.
World No. 2 Chen, who already booked a spot in the last four, looked forwards to the knockout stage, saying “I wasn’t at my best form tonight. I will try to exert my strength tomorrow.”
Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei was defeated by An Se-young of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. Both advanced to the semifinals with two wins.
Mixed doubles world No. 1 Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong of China edged world champions Seo Seung-Jae and Chae Yu-jung of South Korea 21-15, 25-23, beating the latter five times in a row after the world championships.
China’s Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning eased past Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti of Indonesia in straight games, entering the semifinals of women’s doubles, together with another Chinese duo Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan.
The men’s doubles semifinals also feature two Chinese pairs, as defending champions Liu Yuchen and Ou Xuanyi and world No. 1 Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang both clinched victories on Friday.
Source – Indonesia News
