BEIJING, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) — Chinese players secured final spots in three events at the badminton French Open on Saturday.
In a women’s singles marquee match, Chinese star Chen Yufei engaged in an 87-minute battle against world No. 1 An Se-young of South Korea, who eventually prevailed 23-21, 18-21, 21-16.
In the other women’s semifinal, China’s Wang Zhiyi defeated compatriot Han Yue 21-14, 20-22, 21-14 to book her final place.
The women’s doubles semi-finals also featured a Chinese duel as Li Yijing and Luo Xumin triumphed over Olympic champions Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan 21-16, 21-17. Li and Luo will face Japanese pair Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto in the final.
In the mixed doubles semi-finals, Chinese pair Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping staged a comeback to beat Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong, China, 20-22, 21-17, 21-16. They will next play Thai duo Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran for the title.
China’s Li Shifeng claimed the first game 21-15 before Denmark’s Anders Antonsen bounced back to win 21-19, 21-13 in the men’s singles semi-finals, while home favorite Christo Popov stormed into the final after defeating Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in straight games.
The men’s doubles final will be contested between South Korea’s Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae and Indonesian pair Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri.
The five finals are scheduled for Sunday. ■
