XIAMEN: Defending champions China advanced to the final of badminton’s Sudirman Cup with a commanding 3-0 victory over Japan today, captivating the home crowd as they close in on a record-extending 14th title.
China’s world No 2 mixed doubles pair Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping set the tone, beating Hiroki Midorikawa and Arisa Igarashi 21-11, 21-17 in the opener.
Top seed Shi Yuqi then crushed eighth-ranked Kodai Naraoka 21-8, 21-16 in the men’s singles to hand China a 2-0 lead.
Japan showed resilience in the women’s singles, where Akane Yamaguchi, who had won 21 of her previous 33 encounters with Chen Yufei, pushed the Tokyo Games champion to three games but Chen held her nerve to prevail 17-2,1 21-9, 21-16.
China, who have won the biennial mixed team championship 13 times, will meet either four-time champions South Korea or 1989 winners Indonesia in the final, with the two teams facing off in their semi-final clash later this evening.