Lee one of three first-time finalists through in morning session
Lee Chia Hao was one of three sets of shuttlers to make it through to their first YONEX All England final in the first session on semi-final Saturday.
The Chinese Taipei player beat another first-time semi-finalist Alex Lanier in the men’s singles last four to set up a meeting with former champion Shi Yu Qi.
Also making it through were Guo Xin Wa and Chen Fang Hui of China, with the mixed doubles set to have first time winners as they were joined in the final by new partnership Feng Yan Zhe and Wei Ya Xin.
The women’s doubles final will feature at least one former winner after Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida triumphed.
Two Chinese pairs kicked off proceedings on Day 5, with the seventh seeds Guo Xin Wa and Chen Fang Hui defeating Jiang Zhen Bang and Huang Dong Ping 21-15 24-26 21-16.
A run of six points in a row put Guo and Chen at 12-7 ahead before Huang and Jiang responded to get within one.
That was the impetus Guo and Chen needed to close out the opening game.
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Huang and Jiang were reinvigorated in the second game, scoring the first six points before their opponents mounted an impressive comeback to level the game.
The fifth seeds then could not convert three game points but were handed a reprieve as Guo and Chen failed to take two match-point opportunities with Huang and Jiang forcing a decider.
Holding a three-point lead late on, Guo was forced into a medical timeout but it did not affect his game as he unleashed point-winning smashes before a trick shot serve brought up their third match point of the game and this time they took it.
It will be another all-China affair in the final after Feng Yan Zhe and Wei Ya Xin triumphed 21-14 21-18 over Jong Min Lee and Yu Jung Chae of Korea.
Feng and Wei were only briefly behind in the first game before a run of four points powered them ahead as they closed out the opener at the second time of asking.
The second game was even more straightforward with the Chinese pair always in the lead as they booked their places in a first YONEX All England Open final.
Feng said: “Obviously I’m very pleased. As a new pair in our first Super 1000 tournament, to put in this kind of performance we are very surprised.”
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Top seed Shi Yu Qi is still standing in his quest for a second All England title, but he did lose his first game of the week on the way to a 21-9 20-22 21-19 triumph over Li Shi Feng.
The pair had met in the 2023 All England final with Li claiming the title in straight games.
However, this year Shi came out on top and reflected on his own win in the 2018 final as he prepares for a fourth appearance in the showpiece.
He said: “It was an absolutely intense game. I means a lot to me to win that game. There’s some things I need to improve but it was incredible to win that game.
“That tournament was a long time ago and I was a young player at that time and it gave my career momentum.
“Even though I’ve become older and a more mature player, I still want to keep that momentum going and try my best in every game.
“I absolutely want to win this tournament again. I need to recover from today because I’m tired after an intense game.
“No matter who I meet tomorrow I will just do my best, get my head down and try and win the game.”
Shi will face first-time Super 1000 finalist Lee Chia Hao after he beat Alex Lanier 19-21 21-14 21-17.
Lanier built into his maiden All England semi-final, scoring seven straight points to surge past Lee and into a comfortable lead in the first game.
Lee fought back, forcing the Frenchman to a fifth game point before the 20-year-old closed out the game.
The lead changed hands more times in the second before the world number 22 Lee claimed nine points in a row on his way to forcing a decider.
With his back against the wall in the third game, Lanier was able to play more of his free-flowing badminton but he could only delay Lee’s march to a victory.
Lee said: “I can’t believe I made it into the final. I feel really happy about the outcome and it feels good to be playing tomorrow. During the week and even now, I didn’t believe I could play in the final.”
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In the women’s doubles, Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida called on all their experience to triumph 21-9 21-17 over second seeds Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning.
Despite their pedigree as former All England winners, the Japanese pair were the underdogs as the third seeds, but that did not show.
Shida and Matsuyama won nine straight points at the beginning of the first game to blow their opponents away.
Tan and Liu recovered a little in the second game but were never able to fully challenge the 2022 winners.
Matsuyama and Shida must wait until the evening session to confirm their opponents, with the other semi-final between Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian of China and Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto of Japan beginning the session at 5pm GMT.
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Photo courtesy of Badmintonphoto
