Key Takeaways
- Chinese Weng upset Anders Antonsen in the men’s singles at the badminton China Open, securing a comeback victory 19-21, 21-19, 23-21.
- Weng will face Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie in the semifinals, who progressed after a convincing win over China’s Lei Lanxi.
- The top five seeded men’s singles players failed to advance to the semifinals, marking a surprise turn of events at the badminton China Open.
Changzhou (China): The badminton China Open saw another surprise in the men’s singles as China’s Weng Hongyang upset Anders Antonsen of Denmark on Friday.
Weng made a strong comeback, overcoming fifth seed Antonsen 19-21, 21-19, 23-21 after a thrilling match.
Weng will face Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie in the semifinals, who progressed after a convincing 21-18, 21-12 win over China’s Lei Lanxi. Japan’s Kodai Naraoka is set to take on Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand, who beat Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia in the other semifinal, marking a tournament where none of the top five seeded men’s singles players advanced to the semifinals.
In the women’s doubles, three Chinese pairs advanced to the semifinals. Li Wenmei/Zhang Shuxian defeated the top-seeded South Korean duo of Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee with scores of 21-18, 21-18. They will face their compatriots, Olympic champion Jia Yifan and her new partner Zheng Yu. Another Chinese duo, Li Yijing/Luo Xuming, will compete against South Korea’s Jeong Na-eun and Kim Hye-jeong.
In mixed doubles, China’s Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping cruised past Denmark’s Jesper Toft and Amalie Magelund 21-10, 21-10 in just 33 minutes. They will face Indonesia’s Dejan Ferdinansyah
and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja, who secured a comfortable victory over Malaysia’s Hoo Pang Ron
and Cheng Su Yin.
Elsewhere, China’s men’s doubles pair He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu, women’s singles seeds Wang Zhiyi, and Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi and Aya Ohori all advanced.
