KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — Revenge mission unsuccessful.
Taiwan’s top women’s singles shuttler Tai Tzu Ying faltered yet again against China’s Chen Yu Fei, this time in the 2022 Malaysia Masters semi-final, losing 13 – 21, 21 – 23, here yesterday.
The result meant Tzu Ying suffered a back-to-back defeat at the hands of Yu Fei, following her semi-final loss in the 2022 Malaysia Open, 21 – 19, 13 – 21, 15 – 21.
The world number two said that she was unable to match Yu Fei’s speed while admitting that a series of unforced errors committed in the game had taken a toll on her performance.
“I committed a lot of mistakes midway and Yu Fei played too fast today,” she told reporters after the match.
Tzu Ying said she was now unsure of her participation at the 2022 Singapore Open to be held from July 12 to July 17.
This, she said, was due to the fact that she needs to rediscover her form in a bid to clinch her first-ever Badminton World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, to be held from August 21 to August 28.
Meanwhile, Yu Fei, who will battle South Korean third seed An Se Young after the latter defeated Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, 21 – 18, 13 – 21, 21 – 8, vowed to give her best in the final today.
“It would not be an easy game, I expect the match tomorrow similar to the one that I played in last week’s Malaysia Open final against Rachanok Intanon of Thailand,” she said.
Yu Fei succumbed to Intanon, 15 – 21, 21 – 13, 21 – 16 in the 2022 Malaysia Open final last Sunday.
Separately, Indonesia’s men’s singles Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo advanced to his maiden Super 500 final as he came from behind to beat Lu Guang Zu of China, 20 – 22, 23 – 21, 21 – 19.
The unseeded Chico will set up a final showdown against eighth seed Ng Ka Long Angus, after the Hong Kong player survived a 64 minutes battle against India’s H.S. Prannoy, 17 – 21, 21 – 9, 21 – 17.
In the mixed doubles category, second seed Zheng Si Wei – Huang Ya Qiong of China could have a chance to claim two back-to-back titles here as they survived a thrilling rubber set battle against unseeded Taiwanese pair, Yang Po-Hsuan – Hu Ling Fang, 20 – 22, 21 – 16, 22 – 20.
Rinov Rivaldy – Pitha Haningtyas Mentari await Si Wei – Ya Qiong in tomorrow’s final after the Indonesians took 44 minutes to beat Thai duo, Supak Jomkoh – Supissara Paewsampran, 18 – 21, 21 – 10, 21 – 15 in the other last-four action.
Last week, Si Wei – Ya Qiong trounced Dechapol Puavaranukroh – Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand, 21 – 13, 21 – 18, to claim their third successive Malaysia Open title.
— Bernama
