The Chinese women’s badminton team delivered a dominant 3-0 victory over Japan in the Uber Cup semifinals in Denmark on Thursday night, advancing to the final for the fourth consecutive edition. They will now face South Korea for the championship on Friday.
After a 3-0 quarterfinal win against Malaysia, China returned to the court for the semifinal clash. In the first singles match, Wang Zhiyi faced Akane Yamaguchi. Despite losing the opening game 21-23, Wang quickly regained control, winning the next two games 21-11, 21-16 to secure a 2-1 comeback victory. This marked her sixth consecutive win over Yamaguchi.
After the match, Wang made a star-shaped gesture toward the camera, explaining: “That star sign was inspired by Liu Shengshu. In team events, there are five matches, and each point is like a star—just like the five stars on our national flag. We hope to raise the flag at the end.”
In the first doubles, Tan Ning and Liu Shengshu defeated Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Matsumoto 21-18, 21-14. Despite their excitement, the duo remained composed post-match: “The tournament isn’t over yet; we don’t want to celebrate too early. We need to keep our emotions in check and focus on the final.”
With the score at 2-0, Chen Yufei took the court in the second singles against Tomoya Miyazaki. Chen won the opening game 21-11, then fought off a late surge in the second game to seal a 22-20 victory, delivering the decisive third point for China.
In the other semifinal, South Korea defeated Indonesia 3-1, with wins from An Se-young, Baek Ha-na/Lee So-hee, and Jeong Na-eun/Kim Hye-jeong. The Uber Cup final is set for 16:00 Beijing time on May 3, with China and South Korea battling for the title.
Following the Uber Cup semifinals, the Thomas Cup semifinals will kick off at 00:00 Beijing time on May 3. China will face host Denmark, while France takes on India. China has named Shi Yuqi, Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang, Li Shifeng, Chen Boyang/Liu Yi, and Weng Hongyang for the tie, while Denmark counters with Anders Antonsen, Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, Magnus Johannesen, Mathias Christiansen/Frederik Rungard, and Ditlev Jæger Holm. France will use the same lineup with the Popov brothers doubling, while India has adjusted their roster, replacing Lakshya Sen with in-form Ayush Shetty as first singles.