Paris: In the women’s singles quarterfinals at the 2024 Paris Olympics on August 3, World No. 1 An Se Young of Korea defeated World No. 6 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 15-21, 21-17, 21-8, while Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia beat Ratchanok Intanon from Thailand 25-23, 21-9, and Carolina Marin of Spain overcame Aya Ohori of Japan 21-13, 21-14 to advance to the semifinals.
In the last quarterfinal match of the day, defending champion and World No. 2 Chen Yufei and her teammate World No. 9 He Bingjiao faced off in an intense battle, with an unexpected outcome — He Bingjiao beat the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist 21-16, 21-17 to advance to the semifinals.
In the first game, He Bingjiao played aggressively, seizing every opportunity to smash. This aggressive style caught Chen Yufei off guard, and He Bingjiao won the game 21-16.
In the second game, Chen Yufei regained her form, leading 12-8 and 16-14, showing the expected rhythm of a normal match.
However, the tide turned when the score reached 14-16. He Bingjiao unleashed a series of powerful attacks, scoring six consecutive points to reach match point at 20-16 and ultimately winning the game 21-17, defeating Chen Yufei 2-0 and advancing to the semifinals.
After the match, Chen Yufei gave her performance a rate of six out of ten: “I wasn’t fully prepared today and didn’t play decisively enough. He Bingjiao’s aggressive attacks posed a great threat due to my slightly weaker performance.” Chen Yufei acknowledged He Bingjiao’s excellent form in this Olympics and wished her well in the upcoming matches.
Reflecting on her second Olympic journey, Chen Yufei said, “The competition period was long, but overall, I enjoyed this Olympics.”
While many fans are expecting He Bingjiao to meet An Se Young in the final, He Bingjiao still needs to overcome Carolina Marin in the semifinals. Carolina Marin also playing with an aggressive attacking style.
