Shi Yuqi (Photo by Fauzi Ananta)
Top seeded Shi Yuqi of China was in sublime form as he cruised into the men’s singles final at the Malaysian Open badminton championships in Kuala Lumpur.
He will now take on Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in a repeat of the World Championships last year.
Yuqi defeated third seed Anders Antonsen 21-13, 21-14 in commanding style in the semi-finals. The duo featured in the last two finals with Antonssen winning in 2024 and Yuqi avenging the defeat last year.
Antonsen came out aggressively in the opening game to counter the draft on his side of the court.
But Yuqi quickly settled into his stride, and showed his technical skills, especially at the net. He raced to a 9-5 lead only to see Antonsen hit back with five successive points to make it very close at the changeover.
Yuqi widened the gap and closed out the set at the first opportunity.
Things didn’t get any better in the second set for Antonsen, who quickly fell behind.
Yuqi made it 20-10, and although the third-seeded Dane desperately attempted a late comeback, Shi Yu Qi closed off the match with a quick kill.
His rival in the final, Vitidsarn made up for his disappointing show at the BWT Tour last month with a polished semi-final triumph over Indonesian veteran Jonatan Christie, winning 21-13, 21-14.
Meanwhile, in the women’s singles top ranked Korean An Se-young was given a free pass into the final after her rival Chen Yufei withdrew due to an injury.
She will play nemesis Wang Zhiyi of China in the final. Zhi Yi had upstaged Indian’s P.V. Sindhu 21-16, 21-15 in her semi-final tie.
SEMI-FINAL RESULTS
Men’s singles:
Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Tha) bt Jonatan Christie (Ina) 21-16, 21-16; Shi Yuqi (Chn) bt Anders Antonsen (Den) 21-13, 21-14
Men’s doubles: Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae (Kor) bt Ben Lane-Sean Vendy (Eng) 8-21, 21-11, 21-18; Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (Mas) bt Fajar Alfian-Muhammad Shohibul Fikri (Ina) 23-21, 21-18
Women’s singles: Wang Zhiyi (Chn) bt PV Sindhu (Ind) 21-16, 21-15; An Se-young (Kor) bt Chen Yufei (Chn) withdrawn
Women’s doubles: Baek Ha-na-Lee So-hee (Kor) bt Yuki Fukushima-Mayu Matsumoto (Jpn) 21-16, 21-12; Liu Shengshu-Tan Ning (Chn) bt Jeong Na-eun-Lee Yeon-woo (Kor) 21-8, 21-17
Mixed doubles: Feng Yanzhe-Huang Dongping (Chn) bt Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet (Hkg) 21-14, 21-14; Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin (Chn) bt Jesper Toft-Amalie Magelund (Eng) 21-15, 21-
