Jayce
The semifinals for men’s doubles at the 2024 Paris Olympics were decided yesterday. China’s Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang narrowly defeated Indonesia’s duo Alfian and Ardianto 2-0 (24-22, 22-20) to secure their spot in the semifinals.
In the same top half of the draw, India’s Rankireddy/Shetty, considered the biggest threat to Liang/Wang’s title hopes, unexpectedly lost a hard-fought three-game match to Malaysia’s duo Chia/Soh, with scores of 21-13, 14-21, and 16-21. This result raises the question of whether Malaysia is merely clearing the path for China or is a potential dark horse. Today, Liang and Wang will face the Malaysian pair for a place in the finals.
On the other side of the draw, Chinese Taipei’s Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin, who faced pre-tournament controversies, defeated Thailand’s Supak/Kittinupong yesterday to advance to the semifinals. Despite being the defending champions from the previous Olympics, Lee/Wang had a lackluster performance this Olympic cycle, even joking about being the weakest defending champions. However, their underdog strategy allowed them to emerge from the “Group of Death” and reach the semifinals, showcasing their potential strength in major tournaments.
In another bottom-half match, Korea’s Kang Min-hyuk/Seo Seung-jae faced Denmark’s Sørensen/Anders, with the Danish duo winning 2-0 (21-19, 22-20) to advance to the semifinals.
Today, the two men’s doubles semifinal matches will take place, with Liang and Wang facing the challenge from the Malaysian team.
