Macau: In their 3rd career showdown, No. 1 seed Shi Yu Qi of China and No. 3 seed Kantaphon Wangcharoen of Thailand put on a show at Macau Open semi-final before Shi walked away victorious 21-15, 16-21, 21-16 in 74 minutes.
The Chinese player will meet another Thai player, No. 5 seed Sitthikom Thammasin in the final on Sunday.
In men’s doubles, even though Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin of Malaysia pair gave a spirited fight, they ultimately lost their second career meeting to No. 1 seeds Li Jun Hui/Liu Yu Chen 16-21, 20-22. Li/Liu will set up an all-Chinese final against No. 8 seeds Huang Kai Xiang/Liu Cheng.
Although mixed doubles No. 8 seeds Hoo Pang Ron/Cheah Yee See rallied from 8-13 to tie the decider at 20-20, they eventually went down to Wang Chi-Lin/Cheng Chi Ya Taiwan 12-21, 21-15, 20-22 in 62 minutes.
Meanwhile, women’s singles top seed Michelle Li of Canada and No. 3 seed Han Yue of China are set to square off for the third time in their career on Sunday as both triumphed over their respective opponents in the semi-finals.
Li saw off No. 8 seeds Kim Ga Eun of Korea 21-9, 21-19 while Han Yue defeated Natsuki Nidaira 21-14, 21-11.