Data map: Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong combination in the game.
Beijing, March 3 (Reporter Li He) The 19 All England Badminton Open held in Birmingham, England, ushered in the finale of the competition on the 2023th Beijing time. In the five finals, the national badminton players competed in mixed doubles, women's singles and men's singles, winning two titles and two runners-up.
Among them, the combination of Zheng Siwei / Huang Yaqiong won the mixed doubles championship, and Chen Yufei won the women's singles runner-up. The men's singles final will be between Shi Yuqi and Li Shifeng, and Guoyu has already won the championship and runner-up in this event in advance.
Image source: World Badminton Federation official Weibo
In the semifinals on the 18th, mixed doubles top seeds Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong surged forward, defeating the Indonesian pair Kushayanto/Kusumavati 2:1 to advance to the final.
In the semifinals of the other two doubles events, the national team regretted that they both stopped. In the men's doubles match, Leung Wai Keng/Wang Chang fought three sets, and although they tenaciously saved 5 match points in the decisive stage, they also missed 3 match points at the same time, and finally lost 1:2 to the Indonesian pair of Ashan/Hendra; He Jiting/Zhou Haodong lost 0:2 to another Indonesian pair, Alfian/Adianto. In the women's doubles, Jang Shu-hyun/Jung Yu lost 0:2 to the South Korean pair Kim Chao-young/Kong Hee-young.
In the women's singles, Chen Yufei, who won the All England title in 2019, faced world number one Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the semifinals. At last week's German Open, Chen Yufei had just lost to her opponent.
The data picture shows Chen Yufei in the game. Photo by China News Agency reporter Du Yang
However, this time, Chen Yufei easily defeated her opponent 2-0 and returned to the final of the All England Open after three years. "I really didn't expect it to be so easy, my own goal is to fight with all my might, to win a game is a game, to do the process well, and not to think too much about the result." Chen Yufei said after the game.
In the men's singles, Guoya locked the gold medal early. China's Shi Yuqi and Li Shifeng defeated the strong Li Zijia and An Dongsen respectively to advance to the final. This is Shi Yuqi's return to the final of the All England Open for the first time in five years, and it is also the first time in Li Shifeng's career that he has reached the final of the BWF Super 1000 event. For the national badminton men's singles, such results are undoubtedly extremely positive and exciting.
After the semifinals, Shi Yuqi said: "I haven't been in such a good state for a long time, it's a good thing that I can slowly get it back this time, and I will go all out in the final." Li Shifeng took off his shirt after winning the semifinals and celebrated by an excited flip in the stadium, describing his victory as "incredible" after the match.
Image source: World Badminton Federation official Weibo
After a surprise semifinal, the overall performance of Guoyu on the 19th was still excellent.
The mixed doubles final was scheduled for the second match, with "IELTS" representing Guoyu first. In the match, the top seeds Zheng Siwei/Hwang Yaqiong defeated the South Korean pair Seo Seungjae/Choi Yoong-jeong 21:16, 16:21, 21:12, winning the All England Open for the second time since 2. It was also the duo's second title of the season after the Malaysia 1.
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Then Chen Yufei came on the court, where she faced South Korea's Ahn Zhiying in the women's singles final. In the match, Chen Yufei lost a game at 17:21, and then she won the game at 21:10. In the tiebreaker, Chen Yufei lost 19:21 and missed the gold medal. Although unfortunately did not win the championship, Chen Yufei's recent performance is still good.
So far, before the start of the men's singles final, Guoyu has been confirmed to win two titles and two runners-up in the 2023 All England Open.
Data map: Shi Yuqi. Photo by Yu Jing, reporter of the China News Agency
And the men's singles gold medal that was held the most by Guoyu on the final day is exactly the one that the team wants most.
In the last one or even two Olympic cycles, the men's singles has been a point of instability for the national badminton. In this All England Open, the performance of the men's singles of the national badminton gave the outside world a glimpse of their hope of "re-rise".
This is not only because of the final meeting of the two players in the final, but also because of their overall impressive performance.
Data map: Shi Yuqi. Photo by Mao Jianjun, reporter of China News Agency
Among the 5 national badminton men's singles players who played in the All England Championships, except for Lu Guangzu, who was in slightly worse condition and went out early, the rest all played at their own level. Zhao Junpeng defeated world champion and Singapore's Luo Jianyou in the first round, and Weng Hongyang also swept away his recent decline to reach the quarterfinals. Li Shifeng and Shi Yuqi helped Guoyu win the championship and runner-up ahead of schedule.
This men's singles final, whether Li Shifeng continues to be a dark horse or Shi Yuqi climbs to the top again, is enough to make Guoyu's trip to Birmingham full of gains.
Because Guoyu won the most wanted men's singles gold medal, and because in addition to winning the championship, the good momentum shown by the veteran recruits in the competition makes people look forward to next year's Paris Olympics. (End)