KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — Two national representatives in the mixed doubles event, Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai, advanced to the semi-finals of the 2024 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals in Hangzhou, China today, after finishing their first and second matches in Group B respectively.
In the action at the Hangzhou Olympic Gymnasium Sports Centre, Goh-Lai, who came with a mission to win, had to work hard before defeating Indonesian pair Dejan Ferdinansyah-Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja 17-21, 21-15, 21-15 in more than an hour.
For Lai, she was happy with their success in reaching the semi-finals of the tournament after their last appearance in the 2020 edition.
“We are really happy to progress to the semi-finals. We never thought we would make this far.
“Looking at the draw initially we thought we have a chance but we are not putting expectations too high because the pairs in our group are very good. So making it to the semi-finals means a lot to us,” she said in an audio shared with the press via BWF today.
Meanwhile, Chen-Toh managed to maintain their unbeaten record in the group stage when they defeated Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa-Natsu Saito.
The pair, ranked eighth in the world, won straight sets 21-17, 21-18 in a match that lasted 41 minutes.
Both national pairs will play in the semi-finals tomorrow with their opponents to be determined in the draw scheduled to take place tonight.
Meanwhile, the national women’s doubles, Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah, ended the BWF World Tour Finals campaign at the bottom of the group after suffering their third consecutive defeat in the final Group A match.
In the encounter, Tan-Thinaah lost to the world number one pair of China, Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning 21-9, 18-21, 21-18 which lasted 76 minutes
Liu-Tan’s victory over the Malaysians saw them becoming Group A champions while the Japanese pair, Chiharu Shida-Nami Matsuyama came in second place and advanced to the semi-finals
— Bernama
