BWF World Tour Finals 2024: An Seyoung, Han Yue into women's semis, Yamaguchi Akane out as Lee Zii Jia exits men's event
On the final day of group play, Malaysia's Lee exits men's singles with injury, the Paris 2024 women's champion and Han escape from Group B as former winner Yamaguchi falls just short.
Badminton
World No. 1 An Seyoung squeezed into the women’s singles last four of the BWF World Tour Finals with a 21-11, 21-15 win against Han Yue in Group B on Friday (13 December).
The Paris 2024 Olympic badminton women’s singles gold medallist will be joined in the semi-finals by Han, who, despite defeat on this day, progressed as group runner-up to the delight of the crowd in Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China, in an event streamed live on Olympic Channel.
Former world No. 1 Yamaguchi Akane saved three match points to defeat Supanida Katethong 13-21, 21-14, 25-23, but it would not be enough to send the 2022 champion through.
Yamaguchi missed out on games differential after she, An, and Han finished group play all even at 2-1.
Yamaguchi’s Japanese compatriot Ohori Aya won Group A with a perfect 3-0 record after beating Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand in straight sets 21-18, 21-15.
Last month, world No. 9 Ohori announced her retirement at season’s end and is playing the final competition of her career.
Second-ranked Wang Zhiyi will join Ohori in the semis following a 21-8, 21-16 win over Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in a winner-takes-all affair.
On the men's side, Lee Zii Jia retired from the tournament due to injury. The Malaysian star won the first game 22-20 against Li Shifeng, and was leading 15-11 in the second, when he pulled up with an ankle injury. Despite having won his previous two matches at the finals, Lee will finish bottom of Group A, with his past results at the event nullified.
Chinese shuttler Li also exits, finishing third in the group after Chou Tien Chen beat Anders Antonsen 16-21, 21-18, 21-15 in the final group match, which saw both players progress to the semi-finals.
Jonatan Christie booked his place with a 21-15, 21-12 win over Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand. Japan's Kodai Naraoka beat Shi Yuqi in straight games, 21-14, 21-17, but the result didn't impact the group B standings, with Naraoka finishing bottom and exiting the competition, Yuqi of People's Republic of China topped the standings to reach the knockout stages.
The World Tour Finals are available to watch live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app in selected territories.