Two doubles pairs from Thailand have advanced to the semi-finals of the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals following a busy day at Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok on Friday.
Sisters Benyapa and Nuntakarn Aimsaard defeated Jeong Na-eun and Kim Hye-keong of South Korea to book their place in the women’s doubles semi-finals of the US$1.5-million tournament.
The Aimsaard sisters, who are seeded third, stunned the top-seeded Koreans 21-15, 21-8 in just 34 minutes to make their first semi-final at the season-ending tournament.
The victory left them atop Group A with Jeong and Kim scraping through in second place with superior games won and lost over Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai of Thailand.
The Thai duo beat Vivian Hoo and Lim Chiew Sien of Malaysia 21-10, 21-17 in their final match but their effort fell short following their defeat to the Koreans on Wednesday.
In the mixed doubles, two-time defending champions Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai completed a hat-trick of wins when they beat Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping of China 23-21, 21-13 in Group B.
Dechapol and Sapsiree advanced as group winners along with Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing of Malaysia.
In the women’s singles, Busanan Ongbamrungphan ended her campaign without a win when she lost to He Bingjiao of China 8-21, 22-20, 21-13 in Group B.
The Chinese star advanced to the semi-finals after winning all three matches.
Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan joined He in the last four after beating Thai world No.7 Ratchanok Intanon in their final Group B match 21-10, 12-21, 21-7 on Friday night.
Rounding out the semi-final field will be Chen Yufei of China, who beat An Se-Young of South Korea 21-16, 21-12; and Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi, who edged Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia 21-15, 13-21, 21-18.
In the men’s singles, holder Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and Kodai Naraoka of Japan qualified from Group A.
Unbeaten Anthony Ginting and Jonatan Christie, both from Indonesia, qualified as Group B winner and runner-up respectively.
But world number one Axelsen had his aura of invincibility shaken with a surprise loss on Friday to HS Prannoy of India.
The defeat was only the third this year for the dominant 28-year-old Dane, who eventually succumbed 14-21, 21-17, 21-18.
But Axelsen — who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics last year — still advances to Saturday’s semi-finals albeit with his confidence slightly bruised.
The Badminton World Federation shifted its $1.5-million flagship event to Bangkok after original host China dropped the tournament due to its tough Covid restrictions.