China secures women's singles 1-2 at Asian badminton championships

NINGBO, China, April 12 (Xinhua) -- China's Chen Yufei advanced to the women's singles final on Saturday at the Badminton Asian Championships with a commanding 21-11, 21-11 victory over South Korea's Sim Yu-jin.

In Sunday's final, Chen will face compatriot Han Yue, who prevailed in an all-Chinese semifinal against Gao Fangjie.

In the men's singles, China's Lu Guangzu staged a dramatic comeback to defeat teammate Li Shifeng 19-21, 21-10, 21-14 in a grueling 78-minute semifinal.

The 29-year-old Lu attributed his victory to disciplined play. "I pushed through exhaustion by minimizing unforced errors during extended rallies," he said.

Lu now carries China's sole hopes into the gold medal match against Thailand's reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn, who overpowered Singapore's Loh Kean Yew 23-21, 21-10 in the other semifinal encounter.

Japan's Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida delivered an upset in the women's doubles, dethroning Chinese duo Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan 21-17, 21-10.

The Japanese pair will meet China's rising stars Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning, who advanced past compatriots Zhang Shuxian and Zheng Yu.

Men's doubles witnessed a shock exit as China's defending champions Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang fell to Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. The victorious Malaysians will face China's Chen Boyang and Liu Yi in the final.

The mixed doubles final will pit Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet from China's Hong Kong against Japan's Hiroki Midorikawa and Natsu Saito. ■