The Chinese badminton men’s team advanced to the Thomas Cup finals for the 14th time
Shi Yuqi played well
Beijing Youth Daily reporter Liu Ailin
Last night, the Chinese badminton team defeated the Malaysian team 3-1 in the semi-finals of the 2024 Thomas Cup World Badminton Men’s Team Championship after 4 hours of fierce competition. It advanced to the finals for the 14th time in history and will compete in tonight’s final. China competes with the Indonesian team for the championship of this event.
Although the Chinese team has failed to keep a clean sheet in three games since the third round of the group stage, and it was a bit stumbling compared to the women’s team competing in the Uber Cup, in the end, they defeated every opponent without any danger and successfully came to the end. When we reached the finals stage, we had made huge progress compared to the previous session. Shi Yuqi performed well in the first singles, and the effect of the second doubles after splitting and regrouping was also very good. Second singles Li Shifeng gradually became better, but the two young players Wang Chang/Liang Weikeng, who ranked highest in doubles, had another loss after their defeat against the South Korean team in the group stage. After losing in key games, the experience and combat effectiveness of the two people are still a little lacking.
The first player to appear in this semi-final was Shi Yuqi. He played extremely sharply and mercilessly when facing the current “Malaysian No. 1 Brother” Lee Zii Jia. Although it was slightly difficult to win the first game 21-19, he won the second game with a score of 21-19. The disparity of 21 to 5 led to a huge victory, giving the Chinese team a good start.
The two teams in the double round are Wang Chang/Liang Weikeng and Malaysia’s ace doubles Chia Dingfeng/Soh Weiyi. Originally, the Liang-Wang combination had the advantage in the head-to-head record between the two sides, but they did not expect that perhaps due to the excessive psychological pressure of fighting at home, Wang Chang/Liang Weikeng started high and then went low. After winning one game first, they lost two games in a row and were reversed. The game process is worth summarizing after the game. In the group stage against the South Korean team, these two post-00 players also lost in a pair of matches, causing the Chinese team to wait until the fifth set to narrowly defeat their opponents. The two still have a lot to improve and hone.
Li Shifeng, the only loser in the quarter-finals, improved in this semi-final. He defeated Malaysia’s second singles Liang Junhao in straight games 21-17, 21-10, giving the Chinese team a big lead again.
The fourth set was also a contest between the two teams. He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu withstood the pressure and lived up to expectations, reversing Wu Shifei/Izudin 2-1 (18-21, 21-19, 21-12) and ending the game. The big score was locked at 3-1, and the Chinese team advanced to the finals. During this period, the Malaysian combination Wu Shifei/Izudin performed well and performed very strongly. He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu deserved praise for winning the game. In the past, the fixed doubles combination of the national badminton men’s team was He Jiting partnered with Zhou Haodong, Ren Xiangyu and Tan Qiang, but the effect was average. Unexpectedly, after the split and reorganization, the performance was very eye-catching. After the “tower” combination of Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi failed in the group stage against South Korea, the Chinese badminton coaching staff used He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu in the second double round. As a result, they won two games in the knockout round and did not miss the key moment.