BWF World Tour Finals 2023: Anthony Ginting moves top of men's Group A with second win, Axelsen keeps hopes alive
Ginting holds off Shi Yuqi in a three-game thriller and Viktor Axelsen wins to stay in the hunt, while Carolina Marín and Chen Yufei seal women's semi-final spots in Hangzhou.
Badminton![Anthony Ginting BWF World Tour Finals 2023 [NO NEW USE AFTER 18 DEC 23]](https://img.olympics.com/images/image/private/t_s_16_9_g_auto/t_s_w2440/f_auto/primary/g9ygxpcnighhhzl04dtk)
Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting is on the verge of making the semi-finals at badminton's BWF World Tour Finals 2023 in Hangzhou, People's Republic of China, available live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics mobile app (territorial restrictions apply).
For the second day in a row, the world number four was pushed to a three-game decider in Group A of the men's singles, eventually overcoming home favourite Shi Yuqi 11–21, 21–7, 21–17 on Thursday (14 December) to go with his win a day earlier against Japan's Naraoka Kodai.
That moves Ginting top of Group A, with his fate in his own hands as a decisive match-up against Viktor Axelsen of Denmark awaits on Friday. Axelsen, who had lost to Shi on Wednesday, easily beat Naraoka 21–17, 21–9.
That means Axelsen and Shi both sit on one win behind Ginting's two, and any of the three men can still qualify from Group A depending on Friday's results. An Axelsen win coupled with victory for Shi over Naraoka would result in a three-way tie for the two semi-final spots in the group.
Over in Group B, Ginting's fellow Indonesian Jonatan Christie is in a similar situation after beating Anders Antonsen 21–16, 21–18. He faces Li Shifeng, who has one win, on Friday, while Antonsen – also on one win – faces Kunlavut Vitidsarn, who is eliminated. A win for Christie will guarantee he wins Group B.
Meanwhile in the women's singles draw, An Se-young rebounded from a shock opening defeat to compatriot Kim Ga-eun in Group A by seeing off Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 21–14, 21–16 to keep her semi-final hopes alive.
The world number one faces a tough test against Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu-ying on Friday, knowing that only a win will keep her dreams of a semi-final spot going.
That's in contrast to Group B, which is already settled with a round to go. Both Carolina Marín, the 2016 Olympic champion from Spain, and her Tokyo 2020 successor Chen Yufei from hosts China have two wins each.
That means their Friday clash will be to determine who wins the group and who moves on in second place. Chen beat USA's Beiwen Zhang 21–13, 21–15 on Thursday, while Marín beat Han Yue 21–11, 21–12.
Discover all the results from the BWF World Tour Finals 2023 here.