The 2023 China Masters concluded the semi-finals of five events in Shenzhen yesterday. The game started at 10 a.m. and didn't end until nearly 11 p.m. Chen Yufei and Han Yue won the women's singles semifinals respectively, clinching the women's singles title for the Chinese team in advance.
Women's doubles world No. 1 Chen Chenchen/Jia Yifan missed the final, men's doubles world No. 1 Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang advanced to the final.
In the semifinals of women's doubles, the top seed Chen Chenchen/Jia Yifan lost 1-2 to Japan's old opponent Yuki Fukushima/Aika Hirota after a 90-minute see-saw battle.
After their exit, the Chinese team withdrew from the women's doubles championship early. China bowed out of the men's singles title early after Zhao Junpeng lost 2-0 to Japan's Kunta Nishimoto in the semifinals. The men's singles final and women's doubles final will be played between Japanese players.
In the semifinals of the men's doubles upper half, China's Ren Xiangyu/He Jiting lost 0-2 to the top seed, India's Rankiredit/Shetty. In the semi-final of the second half, Liang Weikeng from Guangzhou and his partner Wang Chang fought for three sets and 61 minutes to beat their teammates Chen Baiyang/Liu Yi 2-1, and they will fight the Indian pair for the championship in the final.
The top seeds of mixed doubles Zheng Siwei/Hwang Ya-kyung, who defeated their teammates Feng Yan-cheol/Hwang Dong-ping 2-0 in the semifinals, will face the world champion pair Seo Seung-jae/Chae Yoo-jeong of South Korea in the final.
Although the China Masters is not over yet, Kuo Yu has already achieved one of her goals of qualifying for the BWF World Tour Finals in all five events. World No. 1 Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang will be the top seed in the men's doubles finals in Hangzhou from Dec 13 to 17.
There are five events in Hangzhou finals, and only the top eight players and pairs in the 2023 BWF Tour will be eligible to compete. According to the schedule, December 13 to 15 for the group stage, 16 for the semifinals, 17 to determine the five individual champions.
Before the China Masters, the Chinese team has taken the lead in men's singles, women's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles to lock two places in the Hangzhou Finals.
The only uncertainty is in the men's doubles event, where Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang have already secured qualification, but Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi are still trying. As the two men advanced to the last eight of the China Masters, they also caught the final bus at the last moment.
In the women's singles event, China's Chen Yufei and Han Yue qualified. In the men's singles event, the two main forces of the national feather Li Shifeng and Shi Yuqi joined hands in the shortlist.
Women's doubles world No. 1 Chen Chenchen/Jia Yifan takes part in the final with teammates Liu Shengshu/Tan Ning. In mixed doubles, Guo Yu's Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping and Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong will be the first and second seeds respectively.
