Shi Yuqi was unfortunately eliminated
In the Japan Badminton Open men's singles semi-finals that ended at noon today, Chinese men's singles star Shi Yuqi lost 1 to 2 to Chinese Taipei veteran Zhou Tiancheng and missed the final.
There are four men's singles players in the Chinese team. Zhao Junpeng, Li Shifeng and Lu Guangzu were eliminated in the first two rounds. Only Shi Yuqi entered the semi-finals. Shi Yuqi and Zhou Tiancheng have played against each other 7 times before. Shi Yuqi has the advantage with 5 wins and 2 losses, but the two have not played against each other for three years.
In today's game, Shi Yuqi started smoothly and quickly led 6-1 in the first game. Zhou Tiancheng gradually entered the state and was close to chasing 5 points in a row, but Shi Yuqi quickly scored 4 points in a row to stabilize his position. Shi Yuqi maintained the lead in the subsequent games, winning the first victory 21-15.
Shi Yuqi still took the lead in the second game. Zhou Tiancheng stepped up his attack and set off a scoring climax, leading 11-7. Although Shi Yuqi tenaciously tied the score at 15, Zhou Tiancheng made another effort and scored consecutive points to get the game point. Shi Yuqi even saved 3 game points to no avail. 21 to 19, Zhou Tiancheng pulled the game back.
Zhou Tiancheng had a clear advantage in the decisive game, beating Shi Yuqi 6-1 at the beginning. Although Shi Yuqi once narrowed the gap to only two points, Zhou Tiancheng scored 6 points in a row to once again establish the victory, and finally won the third game 21-12.
32-year-old Zhou Tiancheng is an evergreen player in the badminton world. In recent years, he has been ranked among the top four in the world. This Open is Shi Yuqi's second tournament after his suspension. It is a pity that he failed to reach the finals despite having a good chance. Judging from the situation at the World Championships and Japan Open, Shi Yuqi is still far from his peak state three years ago. (Xinmin Evening News reporter Wang Zhiling)
