Last week’s Badminton World Championships was Shi Yuqi’s first appearance after more than 10 months away from the international arena. Although he has not participated in a high-powered international competition for a long time, Shi Yuqi's appearance at the World Championships was in good overall condition and performance, winning two games in a row and successfully entering the top 16. In the third round of the showdown with Indonesian brother Jinting , Shi Yuqi was put under pressure by the opponent and eventually lost 1-2. Immediately afterwards, Shi Yuqi moved to Osaka with Guoyu to participate in the first badminton federation tour, the Japan Open, and continued to attack good results.
Zhou Tiancheng, the first brother of Chinese Taipei, is already a 32-year-old veteran. He still maintains a high level of performance. His world ranking is stable in the top five. He also has good results in competitions and has entered two stations this season. In the finals of the competition, he won the championship at the Taipei Open at home. At last week's World Championships, Zhou Tiancheng achieved a historic breakthrough. He entered the top four for the first time, stood on the podium, and finally tied for third place.
In this Japan Open, Shi Yuqi and Zhou Tiancheng are both ranked in the top half. If they can advance smoothly, they are expected to meet in the semi-finals. With the withdrawal of the world's number one Axelsen and Indonesia's top brother Ginting, Shi Yuqi successively defeated Denmark's Vittinghus and France's Levedez, and successfully entered the top 8. In the duel with the famous Thai king Ko Lun, Shi Yuqi did not encounter too many challenges or difficulties. He easily won 21-6, 21-13 in 42 minutes. Zhou Tiancheng defeated Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong, China, and Lu Guangzu of Guoyu. In the quarter-finals, he met the Indian player Prannoy. After three fierce games, Zhou Tiancheng won the decisive game 22-20 and narrowly won by 2 points. .
With the smooth advancement of the two, they will meet up with the top four, and a grudge showdown will be staged in the semi-finals. In the past record of matches, Shi Yuqi has the advantage with 5 wins and 2 losses, but the most recent match between the two was at the Asian Championships three years ago, when Shi Yuqi swept them 2-0. Now that they meet again, it is worth looking forward to what kind of showdown the two first brothers will stage.
