[스포티비뉴스=박대현 기자] ‘Ahn Se-young’s nemesis’ Chen Yu-fei (China, world No. 4) is on the verge of winning her first win of the season. The opponent in the finals is Thailand’s rookie Pichamon Opatnipus (No. 36 in the world), the protagonist of the tournament’s biggest upset.
Chen Yufei defeated Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara (world No. 27) 2-0 (21-15 24-22) in the women’s singles semifinals of the 2026 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Indonesia Masters (Super 500) held in Jakarta, Indonesia on the 24th (Korean time) and advanced to the finals.
The result was a shutout victory, but the process was not easy. Chen Yufei, who did not give up a single game throughout the tournament, showed signs of shakiness several times during today’s game.
They seemed to be gaining momentum by taking a 5-2 lead early in the first game, but they allowed a comeback due to consecutive goals and went into the interval trailing 9-11. After regaining his concentration, Chen Yufei regained the initiative and widened the score gap with skillful management to bring the game to 1 game, 21-15.
Game 2 was more intense. Chen Yufei seemed to end the match early, leading 8-2, but was shaken by Okuhara’s persistent pursuit. As the number of errors increased, a 20-20 deuce was allowed, and after that, the team struggled, giving up consecutive deuces even after holding a match point. At 22-22, the opponent’s mistakes and powerful smashes came in succession, and they barely made it to the finals.
Chen Yufei is still continuing his ‘undefeated streak’ in this tournament, but his physical condition is far from perfect. There were several bandages on his shoulder, and his physical decline was evident in the second half of the game. There is a clear difference compared to his heyday when he won a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Nevertheless, this final has great meaning for Chen Yufei. He withdrew from the Malaysia Open (Super 1000) due to injury ahead of the semifinals against Ahn Se-young, and at the India Open (Super 750), he was blocked by Wang Zhiyi of China and turned back at the threshold of the final again. After being eliminated in the semifinals of two consecutive competitions, the stage chosen was the Indonesia Masters.
While the world’s top three ranked players, including An Se-young, Wang Ziyi, and Yamaguchi Akane (Japan), were all absent, Chen Yu-fei, who was desperate for world ranking points, chose to participate and was given the top seed. Living up to those expectations, he made it to the finals and will attempt to win the international competition 174 days after the Macau Open on August 4 last year.
The opponent in the finals is ‘Thailand’s badminton fairy’ Pichamon. Pichamon defeated Malaysia’s Letshana Karupateban (world number 42) 2-0 (21-15 21-17) in the semifinals to advance to her first World Tour final.
Pichamon, born in 2007, is the former women’s singles champion at the 2023 World Junior Championships. Last season, they continued their growth by winning two games on the BWF map.
She earned the nickname ‘Thai Princess’ for her beautiful appearance and bold attacking style, and she produced one surprise after another in this tournament. In the quarterfinals, she completely defeated No. 4 seed Tomoka Miyazaki (Japan, No. 9 in the world) and advanced to the finals.
The two have already faced each other once. In the first round of the previous India Open, Chen Yufei dismissed Pichamon 2-1. Although he won, Pichamon also showed great resistance by winning one game. A match between a rookie aiming for his first World Tour win and an Olympic champion dreaming of revival. The final stage, which will take place in Jakarta, heralds another narrative of ‘collision between old and new.’
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