Chou Tien Chen will need to wait another year to match compatriot Tai Tzu Ying’s five Taipei Open titles after being defeated in the semifinals of the 2024 YONEX Taipei Open by Chi Yu Jen.
Top-seeded Chou, who had previously claimed the title in 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2022, was beaten by his younger teammate 19-21, 21-11, 21-17 in a hard-fought 73-minute battle. This marks Chi’s first victory over Chou after losing their previous three encounters.
For Chi, this is a breakthrough, surpassing last year’s Round of 16 finish. He now advances to face another fellow Taiwanese player, second-seeded Lin Chun-Yi, in the men’s singles final. Lin secured his spot by defeating Lee Chia Hao 21-12, 21-19.
In other action, top-seeded women’s doubles duo Benyapa and Nuntakarn Aimsaard from Thailand were also knocked out in the semifinals. They fell to Indonesia’s Jesita Putri Miantoro and Feni Setianingrum 17-21, 21-9, 21-18.
Indonesia will now take home the women’s doubles title, with second seeds Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Amallia Cahaya Pratiwi winning their semifinal match against Laksika Kanlaha and Phataimas Muenwong 25-23, 21-16.
With the withdrawal of top seed Shi Yuqi, Jonatan Christie faces a challenging start in his title defense at the 2024 Li-Ning Hong Kong Open.
Following the seed withdrawals, Christie is now the top-ranked player in the draw and will face Wang Tzu Wei in the first round. Wang holds a narrow 8-7 lead in their head-to-head encounters, though Christie has won two of their last three matches.
Similarly, Christie’s Indonesian teammate, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, also faces a new opponent—Toma Junior Popov. Six weeks ago, the Frenchman ended Ginting’s 2024 Paris Olympic dream in the group stage.
Last year, Christie became the first Indonesian men’s singles player to stand on the podium since Budi Santoso in 1998.
Withdrawals:
Men’s singles: Li Shi Feng (fourth seed), Lee Chia Hao Women’s singles: Wang Zhi Yi (second seed), Nozomi Okuhara (eighth seed), Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo Men’s doubles: Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik (second seeds), Choong Hon Jian/Haikal Muhammad (eighth seeds) Mixed doubles: Ye Hong Wei/Lee Chia Hsin (fifth seeds), Choong/Go Pei Kee
Promotions:
Men’s singles: Justin Hoh, Cheam June Wei, Jason Gunawan Women’s singles: Lee Yu-Hsuan, Yu Chien Hui, Pitchamon Opatniputh Men’s doubles: Huang Di/Zhou Hao Dong, Kim Gi Jung/Kim Sa Rang Mixed doubles: Wang Chi-Lin/Hsu Yin-Hui, Leong Iok Chong/Ng Weng Chi
Jeong Na-eun and Kim Hye-jeong defied the odds to capture the Women’s Doubles title at the Korea Open 2024, held at the Mokpo Indoor Stadium in Seoul. The sixth-seeded pair, who have risen from a world No. 3 ranking in 2022 to their current No. 20 spot, delivered a stellar performance in front of their home crowd.
In the final, Na-eun and Hye-jeong faced off against the fourth-seeded Malaysian duo, Pearly Tan and M. Thinaah. Despite Tan and Thinaah’s impressive run, which included a semifinal victory over the top-seeded Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee, they struggled in the final. Jeong and Kim clinched victory with a decisive 12-21, 11-21 scoreline, marking their second Korea Open title and their fourth BWF World Tour win.
Korea’s Mixed Results in Other Categories
Korea’s success continued with a Women’s Singles title, though it came via a walkover. Seventh-seeded Kim Ga-eun did not need to break a sweat as second-seeded Wang Zhi Yi from China withdrew, awarding Kim the title without a match.
However, Korea’s bid for a third title fell short in the Men’s Doubles. Top-seeded Kang Min-yuk and Seo Seung-jae were outplayed by Indonesia’s seventh-seeded duo, Leo Rolly Carnando and Bagas Maulana. Despite losing the first set 8-21, Carnando and Maulana mounted a remarkable comeback to win the next two sets 21-9, 21-8, securing their first BWF World Tour title of the year.
Malaysian Victory in Mixed Doubles
In the Mixed Doubles final, Malaysian pair Chen Tang Jie and To Ee Wei held their ground against unranked opponents Guo Xin Wa and Li Qian from China. The fourth-seeded Malaysians displayed remarkable composure in a grueling match that lasted nearly an hour. They emerged victorious with a 17-21, 21-13, 21-13 win, marking their first BWF World Tour title of the year and their third overall.
China Secures Men’s Singles Title
Despite the mixed results, China claimed a title at the Korea Open with Lu Guang Zu winning the Men’s Singles crown. The seventh-seeded Lu, currently ranked No. 13 in the world, overcame a tough challenge from Chinese Taipei’s Lee Chia-hao with a 21-16, 20-22, 21-18 victory in a 68-minute battle, earning his first title of the year.
Lu Guangzu won the men’s singles title at the Korea Open with scores of 21-16, 20-22, and 21-18 against Taiwan’s Lee Chia-hao, securing the sole championship for the Chinese national team at this event.
In the first set, Lu Guangzu gradually pulled ahead after a 3-all tie, winning 21-16.
In the second set, Lu Guangzu started strong with a 6-0 lead, but Lee Chia-hao fought back. Despite Lu Guangzu equalizing at 20-all, Li Jiahao won the set 22-20.
In the decisive third set, Lu Guangzu began to pull away after a 14-all tie. Although Lee Chia-hao came close at 18-19, Lu Guangzu secured the final victory with a score of 21-18.
Lee Chia-hao performed exceptionally well, defeating the 3rd seed Li Shi-feng in the quarterfinals and the 8th seed Lin Chun-yi in the semifinals, marking his first career appearance in a Super 500 final.
While three Chinese representatives reached the finals, Wang Zhi-yi withdrew from the women’s singles final, and Guo Xinwa/Li Qian lost to Malaysia’s Chen Tangjie/Toh Ee Wei in the mixed doubles final. Only Lu Guangzu claimed a title.
In today’s quarterfinals of the 2024 Korea Open Badminton Championships, men’s singles top seed Shi Yuqi was defeated by Lee Cheuk Yiu with a score of 13-21, 15-21. Meanwhile, Li Shifeng lost to Taipei’s Lee Chia-hao 14-21, 18-21, leaving Lu Guangzu as the only Chinese men’s singles player to advance to the semifinals. Quietly, the burden and expectations of being the next in line to lead China’s men’s singles seem to have spread like a fog.
At his peak, Shi Yuqi was able to compete on par with Lin Dan, Kento Momota, and Viktor Axelsen. However, during the 2019 Indonesia Open, he sprained his ankle in a match against Anders Antonsen. The ankle injury swept through his world like a storm, and the surgery and long recovery journey felt like a trek through a desert, with his performance fluctuating as he searched for a return to form.
Earlier this year, Shi Yuqi seemed to be experiencing a resurgence in his career, winning multiple championships. However, in the Olympic men’s singles quarterfinals, he was defeated 0-2 by Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn. Li Shifeng, who won the gold at the Hangzhou Asian Games, also performed poorly, being eliminated in the round of 16. This marked the first time since the 2004 Athens Olympics that no Chinese men’s singles player reached the semifinals.
The defeat at the Olympics cast a shadow over Shi Yuqi’s mindset. Last week at the Japan Open, he suffered a shocking loss to French rising star Toma Junior Popov, ranked only 29th in the world, shattering his dream of reaching the semifinals. This week, the quarterfinals once again proved to be an insurmountable barrier, causing his mental balance to collapse entirely, as if lost in a sea of people, with no direction forward.
In an interview after today’s match, Shi Yuqi revealed thoughts of giving up, saying, “My physical condition was really bad today, and I was in a lot of pain. I’ve been enduring this for about four or five years now, and today I just broke down a bit. I don’t want to endure it anymore. After my surgery, I encountered many issues, with new injuries repeatedly appearing. I kept pushing through to play in the Olympics, but my goal wasn’t very clear, and I was quite confused, with my mindset not being in a good place.”
Currently, the Chinese men’s singles team lacks a leading figure. If Shi Yuqi truly decides to give up, the team will face an unprecedented challenge in the near future.
