There was home delight in Suzhou on Saturday (20 May) as a late night comeback saw the People’s Republic of China beat Japan 3-2 in the semi-finals of the 2023 BWF Sudirman Cup.
Liu Yuchen and Ou Xuanyi saved four match points in their men’s doubles match to take the the mixed badminton team event tie into a decisive women’s doubles rubber, and Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan then cruised to victory to seal passage to the final against Republic of Korea.
Success on Sunday would see China claim a third consecutive Sudirman Cup title and their 13th in total from 18 editions.
Chinese comeback seals epic win
China opted to changed their mixed doubles pairing from the quarter-finals with Feng Yanzhe and Olympic champion Huang Dongping replacing Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong.
They played out an epic against Yamashita Kyohei and Shinoya Naru, and it was the Japanese who eventually prevailed 26-24, 18-21, 24-22 after an hour and 46 minutes.
Things were looking bleak for the hosts when Naraoka Kodai took the opening game against Shi Yuqi, but the world number 10 fought back to win 13-21, 21-15, 21-17 after the Japanese had saved four match points in another match exceeding an hour and a half.
Yamaguchi Akane put Japan back in front with a wonderful display to defeat Olympic gold medallist Chen Yufei.
Chen started aggressively, but the two-time reigning world champion won four consecutive points from 10-9 in the first game before taking it 21-14.
And Yamaguchi kept the pressure on in the second game, going into a 7-2 lead. Chen closed the gap to one, but she was never able to get back on terms with Yamaguchi winning the vital rubber 21-14, 21-15 in 48 minutes.
Hoki Takuro and Kobayashi Yugo took Japan to the brink by taking the opening game of their men’s doubles encounter with Liu and Ou.
Back came the Chinese who looked like taking the match into the decider when they led 16-10. Their opponents scored six consecutive points to level, but the home pair regained their composure to take the second game 21-19 and force a third.
The drama was only just beginning. Hoki and Kobayashi went into a 20-16 lead but, urged on by the home fans, Liu and Ou saved four match points before taking the match 17-21, 21-19, 22-20 to set up a fifth and final rubber.
It all came down to the women’s doubles with three-time world champions Chen and Jia meeting Fukushima Yuki and Hirota Sayaka.
The Japanese had won three of their previous four meetings including three weeks ago at the Asia Championships in Dubai which they went on to win.
But it was a different story this time as the home pair raced into a 10-1 lead before closing out the opening game 21-11.
Fukushima and Hirota looked shellshocked as the crowd cheered their team home. At six minutes past midnight, Chen and Jia won 21-11, 21-6 to cap an emotional night.
Kim and Na stun world champs to send South Korea through
China now face South Korea who beat Malaysia 3-1 earlier on Saturday.
In the opening mixed doubles, Seo Seung Jae and Chae Yu Jung came from a game down to beat Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei.
Malaysia drew level as Lee Zii Jia brushed aside Jeon Hyeok Jin 21-11, 21-9 in just 35 minutes.
But world bronze medallist An Se Young restored the Koreans’ advantage in similarly emphatic fashion, taking 32 minutes to beat Karupathevan Letshanaa 21-10, 21-13.
That left reigning men’s doubles world champions Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik needed to win to keep Malaysia in the tie.
But they could not live with the intense pace set by Kim Won Ho and Na Sung Seung. Kim, who usually plays with Choi Sol Gyu, was in inspired form as the underdogs won 21-12, 21-11 to seal a 3-1 victory.
It’s South Korea’s first final since stunning China in the 2017 final on Australia’s Gold Coast.
You can watch the action from the final of the 2023 Sudirman Cup live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com (territorial restrictions apply).