Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying on Friday advanced to the semi-finals after she saw off He Bingjiao of China at the BWF All England Badminton Tournament in Birmingham.
Tai, the world No. 3 who is seeking her fourth All England Open title, showed more good form, winning 21-12, 21-11 in just 33 minutes.
She entered the match with an 11-4 head-to-head advantage over her Chinese opponent.
Photo: Reuters
Tai’s dominance emerged halfway through the first game as she pulled away from being tied 11-11 to win while only conceding one further point.
He looked to attack, but Tai’s defensive skills were up to the challenge.
In game 2, the Taiwanese denied He momentum as the Chinese never scored more than two consecutive points.
Tai’s win meant that the top four seeds entered the semi-finals at the Utilita Arena, which were to be completed after press time last night.
Defending champion and world No. 1 Akane Yamaguchi beat China’s Zhiyi Wang 21-19, 21-12 to reach the last four, with No. 4 Chen Yufei of China awaiting Yamaguchi after she saw off Gregoria Mariska 24-22, 23-21.
World No. 2 South Korean An Se-young had a walkover into the last four after illness forced Spain’s Carolina Marin to withdraw.
In the men’s singles, Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia might believe he is still struggling for form, but the world No. 4 was the highest-ranked men’s player still alive at the semi-final stage.
Lee edged a deciding game against Japan’s Kodai Naraoka to progress 21-9, 10-21, 21-13.
“I’m maybe 70 percent of my best at the moment,” Lee said. “I’m still trying to find the best version of me.”
He was to play China’s Shi Yuqi after the 2018 All England winner comfortably saw off compatriot Weng Hongyang 21-9, 21-16.
Anders Antonsen shocked world No. 3 Anthony Ginting 21-14, 9-21, 21-17.
The Dane was to play Li Shifeng, who saw off Ng Tze Yong 21-11, 21-11.
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