HONG KONG - World champion Carolina Marin of Spain beat Chinese former world number one Wang Yihan on Saturday for a place in the finals at the Hong Kong Open.
Top-seed Carolina Marin of Spain hits a return against Yui Hashimoto of Japan during their women's singles second-round match at the Japan Open Superseries badminton tournament in Tokyo on Sept 10, 2015.
The current world number one dismissed Yihan in straight sets 21-18, 21-16 taking her a step closer to her sixth big title of the year.
Marin fell in the semi-finals at last year's tournament, but has since had a strong year, taking the world title in August and shooting up the rankings to number one after starting the year ranked eighth.
"A lot of things I (have) changed in my game, in my mind and, of course, how I see the tournament -- that I want to win the title," Marin said after she booked a place in her eighth final of the season.
"I think the important thing is I keep my focus on all my training. This is the key of my game."
Marin will face either Ratchanok Intanon -- who was the youngest ever world champion when she took the title in 2013 -- or Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in Sunday's final.
In the men's competition, Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei faces giant-slayer Angus Ng later Saturday to fight for a place in the final.
Hong Kong youngster Ng downed Lee's nemesis Chinese badminton legend Lin Dan in the second round, making him an overnight hometown hero.
Former world number one Lee is on a winning streak after taking back-to-back titles in China and France as he has made a strong comeback to the circuit following an eight-month doping ban earlier this year.
Also on a surprise winning run is little-known qualifier Ginting Anthony of Indonesia who faces China's Tian Houwei, currently ranked tenth in the world, in the semi-finals.