Paris 2024 Badminton: Diverging fates of Olympic champions - Carolina Marín advances, Chen Yufei eliminated
The defending badminton women’s singles champion Chen Yufei was knocked out in the quarter-finals by her People’s Republic of China compatriot He Bingjiao 21-16, 21-17 at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Saturday (3 August).
Chen had the slight edge over their careers, 8-7 lifetime against He, but it was the latter who had the last laugh on this day.
In the semi-finals on Sunday, He will face the other Olympic champion in the field, Rio 2016 gold medallist Carolina Marin, who fared better in a controlling 21-13, 21-14 win over Japan’s Ohori Aya.
Marin missed Tokyo 2020 with a knee injury she suffered shortly before the Games but three years on, she has pulled herself within one victory of a guaranteed medal and every chance to return to the top of the podium.
Top seed An Seyoung had to dig deep to beat former world No. 1 Yamaguchi Akane in three sets 15-21, 21-17, 21-8 to set up a last-four meeting with Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung.
Tunjung went through at the expense of Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand, 25-23, 21-9.
He Bingjiao got the better of Chinese team-mate and Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Chen Yufei.
