London, March 15, 2025 – The Europe Today: China’s Shi Yuqi and Li Shifeng will battle for a spot in the men’s singles final at the All England Badminton Championships, as both secured straight-game victories in Birmingham on Friday.
The 29-year-old top seed Shi Yuqi defeated Loh Kean Yew from Singapore with scores of 21-18, 21-16. Earlier, sixth seed Li Shifeng ousted Lakshya Sen of India, dominating the match with 21-10, 21-16.
“I’m so satisfied with my performance today,” said 25-year-old Li Shifeng, who had previously lost to Sen in their last two encounters. “I prepared really well for this match and played as I expected.”
The semifinal clash between Shi and Li on Saturday will be a rematch of the 2023 All England final, where Li claimed victory in his debut appearance at Birmingham. Reflecting on his journey, Li remarked, “There have been ups and downs after the triumph here two years ago. I won’t think too much about the result but will focus on my performance.”
The other men’s singles semifinal will feature French player Alex Lanier against Lee Chia-hao from Chinese Taipei. The 20-year-old Lanier, who defeated Wang Tzu-wei of Chinese Taipei in straight games on Friday, remains the only non-Asian player among the semifinalists.
In the women’s singles, China’s Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yufei was unable to withstand Paris Olympic champion An Se-young from South Korea, losing 21-9, 21-14. An will now face Japanese ace Akane Yamaguchi, who defeated her 18-year-old teammate Tomoka Miyazaki with scores of 26-24, 21-16.
The other women’s singles semifinal will be a Chinese derby between Wang Zhiyi and Han Yue.
Meanwhile, the women’s doubles semifinals will see China and Japan face off, while three Chinese pairs have reached the mixed doubles semifinals. In the men’s doubles, He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu remain China’s only medal hope.
