Taipei, Jan. 12 (CNA) Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) will square off against Chinese player Chen Yufei (陳雨菲) in the 2024 Malaysia Open women’s singles semifinals slated for Saturday, after a straight-game victory on Friday in Bukit Jalil.
The world No. 4 Tai defeated He Bingjiao (何冰嬌) of China 21-16, 21-15 in 37 minutes at Axiata Arena, marking her fifth consecutive win over the world No. 6 and extending her record to 15-4 in their head-to-head.
After securing the first game, Tai went on a run of 8 consecutive points at 4-6 to overtake He, setting the tone for the second game.
Although He fought to stay in the match, saving Tai’s first two match points, the Taiwanese player ultimately secured a spot in the semifinals of the Super 1000 event with exquisite net play.
To surpass her third-place finish at the Malaysia Open in 2023, when the tournament was upgraded to Super 1000 for the first time, Tai must defeat He’s compatriot Chen, currently ranked world No. 2, in the upcoming semifinals in Bukit Jalil.
Tai lost to Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, the current world No. 3, in last year’s semifinals, finishing in third place.
Saturday’s match is expected to be challenging for the 29-year-old veteran, who has lost her last four matches against Chen, despite holding a 17-8 advantage in their overall head-to-head.
Completing the 2023 season by winning the BWF World Tour Finals trophy in Hangzhou, China, in December, Tai said she would not make adjustments for the Paris Olympics in particular due to the hectic schedule and is instead working on minimizing errors.
“Standing on the Olympic podium is every athlete’s dream, and I’m working toward that goal too,” Tai said. However, she emphasized the importance of focusing on each game due to the fierce competition in women’s singles.
“I have not made much progress in limiting the faults I make, and this issue is more serious when facing off against top players,” Tai added.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi (林俊易) secured a spot in the men’s singles semifinals by upsetting Li Shifeng (李詩豐) of China, the Hangzhou Asian Games champion in 2023, on Friday.
Currently ranked world No. 21, Lin defeated world No. 3 Li 21-12, 21-18 in 49 minutes to reach the tournament’s semifinal stage for the first time.
(By Huang Tzu-chiang, Li Chien-chung, and Chao Yen-hsiang)
Enditem/AW
2024-01-12 11:21:00
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