BWF World Championships 2023: Carolina Marin overpowers defending champion Yamaguchi to reach final - Kunlavut Vitidsarn also through
Three-time world champion Marin showed she was right back to her best in defeating the Japanese star in Copenhagen to reach her first worlds final since 2018. Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsaran ousted India's HS Prannoy to advance to his first world championship final.
Badminton
Carolina Marin is one win away from a fourth women's singles title at the BWF World Championships after beating Yamaguchi Akane in the semi-finals on Saturday (26 August).
The Rio 2016 Olympic badminton gold medallist defeated the two-time reigning world champion 23-21, 21-13 to reach the final in Copenhagen in which she will face top seed An Se-young.
In men's singles, Thailand's third seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn beat HS Prannoy (India) 18-21, 21-13, 21-14 to advance to his second world championship final against Japan's Naraoka Kodai who eliminated Denmark's Anders Antonsen 25-23, 21-12.
"You know, I came here to reach one goal. We are on the way but it's not enough for me to play a final. I want to fight for a gold medal. I'm really happy with my performance today. I think it was really important to keep fighting until the end," said Marin to Olympics.com after the match.
She led the head-to-head 8-7 going into this contest, and the first game was tight before Yamaguchi managed to open up a 16-12 lead.
Back came the Spanish left-hander to level at 19-19 before a powerful smash set up Yamaguchi's first game point. Marin saved it before creating one of her own with a fierce overhead, but left a punch clear from her opponent which dropped on the line.
Then Yamaguchi went wide with a smash before sending another one long to hand Marin the opener 23-21 after 29 minutes.
Marin was able to press home the initiative early in the second game, taking a 9-5 advantage before going into the break 11-6 in front.
Five years since her last world crown, and after a succession of serious knee injuries, Marin looked right back to her best as she continued to overpower the second seed.
Despite Yamaguchi showing flashes of inspiration, Marin's attacking onslaught was too great for the Japanese whose team looked distinctly worried.
And Marin closed out victory in 53 minutes, just about managing to hold back the tears after a wonderful performance.
"When I won the first game, I thought to myself that I have to keep going. I had to show to Yamaguchi that if she really wanted to beat me, she had to work and fight even harder than me. But I never give up and I just wanted to keep going until the end," said Marin.
"I had some tears today when I won because it's really really hard, in the mental part, to believe in yourself after two serious injuries. Finally I'm here. I showed today to myself that everything is possible and I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
Will she be able to stop An Se-young in the final? The top seed ousted reigning Olympic champion Chen Yufei 21-19, 21-15.
An won the last seven points in succession to end the Republic of Korea's 30-year wait for a world women's singles finalist.
She will hope to go one better than Bang Soo-hyun - who lost to Susi Susanti in the 1993 final in Birmingham, England - and become South Korea's first women's singles world champion.
The 2023 BWF World Championships in Copenhagen can be followed live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com (territorial restrictions may apply). The tournament concludes on Sunday 27 August.
Semi-finals results from BWF World Championships 2023, Copenhagen, Denmark
Women's doubles: [1] Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan (CHN) def. Zhang Shuxian/Zheng Yu (CHN) 21-14, 21-16.
Mixed doubles: [5] Seo Seung-jae/Chae Yu-jung (KOR) def. [2] Watanabe Yuta/Higashino Arisa (JPN) 21-15, 21-13.
Women's doubles: [3] Kim So-yeong/Kong Hee-yong (KOR) lost to [11] Apriyani Rahayu/Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti (INA) 9-21, 20-22.
Mixed doubles: [1] Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong (CHN) def. [8] Jiang Zhenbang/Wei Yaxin (CHN) 21-18, 21-16.
Women's singles: [6] Carolina Marin (ESP) def. Yamaguchi Akane (JPN) 23-21, 21-13.
Men's doubles: [3] Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang (CHN) lost to [11] Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (DEN) 21-17, 18-21, 19-21.
Women's singles: [1] An Se-young (KOR) def. [3] Chen Yufei (CHN) 21-19, 21-15.
Men's singles: [9] HS Prannoy (IND) lost to [3] Kunlavut Vitidsarn (THA) 21-18, 13-21, 14-21
Men's doubles: [9] Kang Min-hyuk/Seo Seung-jae (KOR) def. [4] Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik (MAS) 23-21, 21-13
Men's singles: [4] Naraoka Kodai (JPN) def. [12] Anders Antonsen (DEN) 25-23, 21-12