BWF Badminton World Championships 2022, as it happened: Day 6 - Yamaguchi to face Chen in women's final; Axelsen sets up men's final with Vitidsarn; Daddies still unbeaten; Kim/Kong and Chen/Jia in WD final

The 27th BWF World Championships in badminton in Tokyo, Japan is down to the last four in men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles. On Saturday (27 August 2022), 10 semi-finals will take place to determine the finalists in each of the five events.

Those in action on the penultimate day of the Championships at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium include world Nos. 1 Viktor Axelsen and Yamaguchi Akane.

Olympics.com has live updates throughout the day from the Japanese capital, which you can follow below.

Don't forget to bookmark this page and keep checking back as we bring you the latest developments from all the matches.

All times below are Japan Standard Time (UTC/GMT +9 hours). Most recent updates at the top; please refresh for latest.

22:11 - Yamaguchi: "I want to enjoy (the final)"

"I was aggressive right from the first game, trying to get a rally going. Tomorrow I hope I can take it to the opponent like I did today and not worry about the result. I want to enjoy it.

"I thought I’d be against the drift in the first game so I played not really worrying about conceding points or the game. I didn’t really pay attention to the score.

"When I played her (at the Thomas Uber Cup) I kind of just took everything she came at me with. This time I wanted to play with pace.

"I want to have fun playing this final, in Japan, and take the fight to her".

21:44 - It's Yamaguchi vs Chen

The defending champion never trailed in the second game, winning it 21-12. Class.

21:31 - And earlier...

Two-time world champions Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong are through to the mixed doubles final again after winning a decider in their Olympic final rematch.

There was nothing to choose between them and Tokyo gold medallists Wang Yi Lyu and Huang Dong Ping until the second half of the first game when some incredible reflexes at the net from Huang Yaqiong saw them go into a 16-13 lead. The Olympic gold medallists stepped up a gear in the second game, getting the better of some dazzling rallies to move back into contention.

They led 11-7 at the break before reeling off the last five points to take it 21-12. Despite dropping the second game, the top seeds fairly flew out of the blocks in the decider as they went into a 6-0 lead which soon became 9-1. Trailing 11-2 at the changeover, fourth seeds Wang/Huang needed something special at the restart.

It failed to materialise as the reigning world champions took the next five points to all but settle the match. Zheng/Huang went on to convert their third match point, completing victory 21-16, 12-21, 21-10 in 58 minutes, to reach their seventh final in their last seven tournaments.

They will face home favourites Watanabe Yuta and Higashino Arisa in tomorrow's gold medal match.

21:27 - Yamaguchi Akane takes first game

The defending champion comes from behind to take the set 21-19 from An Se Young, fighting back from being down 17-15

19:40 Chen completes comeback to reach first world final

Olympic champion Chen Yufei did it the hard way once more against Tai Tzu Ying, coming through 15-21, 21-14, 21-18 to reach her first World Championship final.

Tai came out with new resolve after the break, closing the gap to 13-8, but the comeback proved shortlived.

Chen's greater energy was clear to see and she produced an incredible get on her knees to go 18-10 in front before bringing up eight match points.

Tai summoned up a spirited effort to save five of them with Chen calling for the doctor who administered spray to her right knee.

On her sixth match point, Chen's crosscourt smash landed just out. But Tai went wide on the next point as Chen claimed the decider 21-18, just as she did in Tokyo a year ago to take Olympic gold.

Chen now awaits the winner of the second semi-final between Japan's reigning world champion Yamaguchi Akane and Korea's An Se Young.

19:23 Chen on top as Tai tires

A couple of long, gruelling rallies at the start of the decider look to have been decisive.

The points were shared but Tai Tzu Ying has looked seriously fatigued since and Chen Yufei shows no sign of slowing down.

The Olympic champion has started to dominate with Tai struggling to keep pace.

She leads 11-4 at the break, and the Chinese Taipei shuttler will need something special to get back into this.

19:10 Chen takes Tai into third game

A decider will be needed in this first women's semi-final after Chen Yufei won 12 of the last 14 points to take the second game 21-14.

Straight after the restart, a wonderful backhand wrist-flick smash saw Tai Tzu Ying extend her advantage to three.

But then the errors started to flow from Tai's racket with Chen needing no second invitation.

A fine smash down the line followed by another putaway saw the Olympic champion rack up six consecutive points to go 18-13 in front.

Another Tai error made it 19-13, and Chen closed it out 21-14 to level the match. It's following a similar pattern to last month's Malaysian Open meeting which the Chinese went on to win.

18:59 Tai edges ahead in second game

Tai Tzu Ying's smashes are either clean winners or ending up in the net at present, as she tries to close out this semi-final against Chen Yufei.

After taking the opening game, Tai got the better of a superb 34-shot rally to go 6-4 in front.

There has been little to choose between the pair in the second game, but three consecutive smash winners saw Tai go into the break 11-9 in front and on the brink of her second straight world final.

18:48 Tai takes opening game but Chen looking dangerous

Tai Tzu Ying converts her second game point to take the opener 21-15, although Chen Yufei showed more than enough in the second half to suggest this match is far from over.

The Olympic champion has increased her aggression but, despite managing to close the gap to 17-13, had too much to do after Tai's fast start.

Tai won silver at both last year's Olympic Games and World Championships with the 28-year-old still seeking a first global title.

18:33 Tai makes strong start to first women's semi-final

Tai Tzu Ying holds a healthy 11-3 advantage at the break in the first game of her semi-final against Olympic champion Chen Yufei.

The Chinese Taipei shuttler is showing great movement and deft touch with Chen looking a bit sluggish by comparison.

Tai leads the head-to-head 17-6 but she cannot afford to be complacent as Chen has enjoyed the better of their recent clashes including last year's Olympic final.

The Chinese has also won their last two meetings, the first at last month's Malaysian Open where she came back from a game and 12-5 down.

18:15 Deadly Watanabe/Higashino into second consecutive world final

Watanabe Yuta and Higashino Arisa merely picked up where they left off in the second game of their mixed doubles semi-final against Mark Lamsfuss and Isabel Lohau.

Higashino showed her athleticism with two consecutive jump smashes in a rally to put the Japanese 2-1 up, and she and her partner were simply irresistible.

The Germans had no response as Watanabe and Higashino went into the break 11-2 up, and they wasted little time in completing victory 21-8, 21-6 as they bid to go one better than their silver medal from last year.

They face the winners of the repeat of last year's Olympic final between top seeds Zheng Ziwei and Huang Yaqiong and Tokyo gold medallist Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping.

That's a bit later but coming up next is another Tokyo 2020 final repeat in the women's singles with Olympic champion Chen Yufei facing Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei.

18:00 Watanabe/Higashino cruise through first game

It's been all too easy for Olympic mixed doubles bronze medallists Watanabe Yuta and Higashino Arisa.

After making a fast start, the home pair went into the break 11-6 up on European champions Mark Lamsfuss and Isabel Lohau who made a few errors early on.

But since then it's been one-way traffic with the Japanese reeling off the last four points to take it 21-8 in just 12 minutes. And it's hard to see the Germans coming back from here.

17:35 Axelsen into second world final

Viktor Axelsen is through to the men's World Championship final after a wonderfully competitive second game against Chou Tien Chen.

Chou gave a hint of a grimace before the mid-game break, and it looked like he might be struggling physically after the restart.

He was on his way out at 13-9 down, but five straight points saw him in front.

An epic 43-shot rally went the way of Axelsen as he levelled the scores at 16-16, and then a remarkable reflex backhand for a winner put the Dane back in front before a fortunate net cord extended his lead.

And then perhaps the point of the match from the Olympic champion - two miraculous retrievals and then a typically powerful smash to make it five points in a row and go 19-16 in front.

Chou looked broken after that rally, and the end came swiftly as Axelsen converted the second of five match points to take victory 21-15, 21-17.

He joins Morten Frost as the only Danes to reach two World Championship men's singles finals with Kunlavut Vitidsarn standing between him and a second world crown tomorrow.

Next up is the mixed doubles semi-final between home favourites Watanabe Yuta and Higashino Arisa, and Germany's European champions Mark Lamsfuss and Isabel Lohau.

17:20 Looking good for Axelsen

Chou Tien Chen made a fast start to the second game, going into a 6-3 lead with Viktor Axelsen sending the shuttlecock long frequently.

But the Dane is lethal when given the opportunity to smash and he's roared into an 11-9 advantage at the break with a place in the final in sight.

17:05 Axelsen draws first blood in men's semi

Viktor Axelsen has one foot in the men's final after taking the first game 21-15 against Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Chen.

It's been an entertaining encounter, but the reigning Olympic champion's power from the back of the court has proved decisive despite some fine defence from Chou.

The Dane took 24 minutes to seal the opener as he bids to reclaim the title he first won in 2017.

Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn awaits in the final after his victory over Zhao Junpeng earlier.

16:25 - Kunlavut Vitidsarn is in his maiden final

He is a three-time junior champion and Kunlavut Vitidsarn has now made his mark at the senior worlds as well, reaching the final after beating China's Zhao Junpeng 22-20, 21-6.

The Thai shuttler was trailing in the early parts of the first game but clawed back with some excellent defence and took the initiative to force Zhao to concede the opening game.

The second game was Vitidsarn all the way. Zhao made a number of misjudgments and just could not land his shots within the court, only scoring his first point at 10-1. It was too big a hurdle to cross as Vitidsarn kept calm and saw off the clash with ease.

You can watch the highlights below.

16:00 - Kim: "We never gave up till the end"

Kim: “We cannot believe that we managed to win this match. We never gave up until the end, we earned this result.

We appreciate what the fans have done for us today. Please continue to support us like today. We will do our very best.”

Kong: “It was a difficult match, so I want to thank Kim. Tomorrow, we will have the final against Chinese players (Chen/Jia), so we would like to give our best performance with no regrets.”

15:30 - Kim/Kong mount marvellous comeback!

An incredible encounter that and in the end Kim Soyeong and Kong Heeyong, the South Korean fourth seeds, beat Thailand's Puttita Supajirakul and Sapsiree Taerattanachai 21-16, 19-21, 25-23 in a 92-minute marathon!

After exchanging the first two games, both pairs brought their absolute best to the decider. Supajirakul/Taerattanachai were up 19-15 and looked to have wrapped it up but Kim/Kong had other ideas.

The energetic Koreans, known for their endurance and long rallies, never gave up and saved as many as four match points (!) before finally overcoming the Thai hurdle.

Both pairs gave it everything but there could only be one winner at the end. Phew!

14:45 - Aaron/Soh in MD final!

14:15 - Aaron Chia: "Our mission is not done yet"

Aaron: "Of course we are very happy with our performance today but I'll say our mission is not done yet. There's one more step to go!"

13:45 - Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik make men's doubles final

Malaysian sixth seeds Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik have prevailed in a three-game thriller against young Indian pair Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, beating them 20-22, 21-18, 21-16.

It was a high-octane clash, as we have come to expect from these pairs over the last few years, with smashes shared galore. A few too many errors from Chirag/Satwik proved to be their undoing in the end.

It's still history for India as Chirag/Satwik become the first pair to win a men's doubles medal, ending with bronze.

For Aaron/Soh, it will be another titanic clash against the 'Daddies' - Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan - in the final.

13:30 - The Chen/Jia masterclass to reach the final!

13:13 - Jia: "We can overcome anything on the court"

Jia: "We’re very happy to be in the final. Our goal initially was to get to the semi-final so we can win a medal.

"I believe we are great partners for each other and we can overcome anything on the court".

Chen: "We kept our composure throughout because we already had a medal. We were able to stay mentally focused".

12:36 - Chen/Jia outclass Matsumoto/Nagahara

The defending champions from China return to the women's doubles final with a 21-13, 21-14 victory over crowd favourites Matsumoto Mayu and Nagahara Wakana.

Chen Qing Chen/Jia Yi Fan were briefly behind for a couple of points in the second game but other than that, led throughout the match.

11:26 - Ahsan/Setiawan on reaching final

Ahsan: "I’m happy but also sad. I don’t think about tomorrow’s match. We must rest, and more rest, and play in the match".

Setiawan: "I think in the second set we made mistakes and in the third set we tried to turn back the mistakes to put in our strategy. I think we just stay focused because it’s not easy to play in the final and do our best tomorrow.

I’m very happy and blessed (to still be playing at 38). Because at this age, I am able to play very well. I aim to keep my body condition.

11:02 - It's Ahsan/Setiawan

The third seeds win 23-12, 12-21, 21-16.

That is the 19th victory in a row for the pair at the world championships. Outstanding.

10:00 - One day to go

Good morning from the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on the penultimate day of these championships.

Just when you thought it had cooled off yesterday outside, it is absolutely cooking today.

We have 10 semi-finals all on centre court, and first up is Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto and Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan in an all-Indonesian affair.