HANGZHOU, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) — Li Shifeng, a rising star of China, advanced to the badminton men’s singles final at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Friday after defeating India’s Prannoy Haseena Sunil Kumar. Li’s victory guarantees a gold-silver medal scenario for China as he will face his compatriot Shi Yuqi in the final. The 23-year-old Li achieved a score of 21-16, 21-9 in 51 minutes, finally breaking his losing streak against Kumar, as he did previously against Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia in the quarterfinals a day earlier.
“I’m very happy to secure a victory against an opponent like Prannoy, whom I haven’t beaten before,” Li said. “I’m giving my best effort in this competition.”
Li has not dropped a single game so far in both team and singles events, making an impressive debut at the Asian Games. “To be honest, I have been feeling tired recently, but I have adjusted my mindset well. The cheers from the audience also boost my competitiveness and motivation,” Li added.
Shi Yuqi followed in Li’s footsteps by defeating the second-seeded Kodai Naraoka of Japan with a score of 21-5, 21-15. In their most recent encounter during the All England Open final in March, Li emerged victorious over Shi in straight games. “I want to face Shi because it means China is set to secure the gold and silver medals,” Li expressed.
In the women’s singles category, South Korea’s An Se-young, who is ranked number one globally, easily beat China’s He Bingjiao with scores of 21-10, 21-13. An, known as the most outstanding player of the year, clinched the title of world champion in the singles category and reached the top rank in August.
“One of my advantages is my good moving ability,” An commented. “Working hard has become a habit of mine, and I have no other secrets. I simply focus on my training,” she added.
An will face Chen Yufei from China, the home favorite, in the final. Chen made a comeback and defeated Japan’s Aya Ohori with scores of 18-21, 21-10, 21-8.
In the mixed doubles, top-seeded pair Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong of China staged a comeback to defeat newly-crowned world champions Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung with scores of 13-21, 21-15, 21-16. Zheng and Huang will compete against Japan’s Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino in the final.
The men’s doubles final will feature South Korea’s Choi Sol-gyu and Kim Won-ho against India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, while the women’s doubles title contention will be between China’s Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan and South Korea’s Lee So-hee and Baek Ha-na.
Gold medals will be awarded on Saturday across the five categories.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
