Singapore: In the men’s singles semi-finals of the 2024 Singapore Open, World No. 2 Shi Yuqi of China defeated World No. 13 Chou Tien-Chen of Taiwan 28-26, 21-9 to advance to the final.
Highlights of Shi Yuqi vs. Chou Tien Chen in the semi-finals of the 2024 Singapore Open:
In the first game, both players went all out.
The game was intense, with the score tied at 20-20 but Chou couldn’t convert in 7 game points and it was tied until 26-26.
Finally, Shi Yuqi withstood the pressure and narrowly won the first game 28-26.
At the beginning of the second game, Shi Yuqi increased his tempo and saw off the demoralized Chou 9-21 to advance to the final.
In other men’s singles semi-finals, World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen provided a walkover to Li Shifeng due to soreness to his right ankle after a small rollover he sustained in the second-round match against Lin Chun-Yi on Thursday.
Therefore, Sunday’s men’s singles final will be an all-Chinese final between Shi Yuqi and Li Shifeng.
Viktor Axelsen’s withdrawal would also impact his world ranking points. If Shi Yuqi wins the Singapore Open title on Sunday, his ranking points will increase substantially and is highly likely for him to rise to world number one before the Paris Olympics. If this happens, Shi Yuqi will become the first Chinese badminton player in nearly ten years to achieve this ranking.
In men’s doubles, after Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang bowed out of the tournament in the quarter-finals, He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu continued to carry China’s hopes for winning the Singapore Open title. They defeated the Japanese pair Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi 21-16, 19-21, 21-16 in the semi-finals. He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu are currently China’s best men’s doubles pair. Unfortunately, their partnership came too late for the Paris Olympics.
He/Ren will take on Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia in the final. Alfian/Ardianto outlasted Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark 21-11, 16-21, 21-12 on Saturday.
