Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen yesterday reached the men’s singles final at the Japan Open, but Tai Tzu-ying was forced to pull out of the tournament after aggravating a left knee injury.
Entering the Super 750 event in Yokohama with a lingering knee issue, Tai was leading 15-5 against Natsuki Nidaira of Japan in the first game of their women’s singles quarter-final when she overextended her left knee while attempting unsuccessfully to save a net cord shot.
The 30-year-old grimaced in pain and sat courtside after calling for an injury timeout, allowing medical staff to apply cold spray to her knee.
Photo: AFP
Tai, the top seed in the Japan event, returned to the game and overcame the setback to securing a spot in the semi-finals, but later on Friday withdrew from the tournament, giving Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan a free path to today’s final against Akane Yamaguchi of Japan.
Tai’s withdrawal was officially announced by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the tournament’s organizer, yesterday.
“I’m surprised I even made it to the semis,” Tai told reporters. “Now, I’m just trying my best to go as far as I can. I’ll see a physician after returning to Taiwan and hope it’s not too serious.”
Photo: AFP
Tai is ranked 18th on the BWF World Tour Rankings, with the top eight players to qualify for the BWF World Tour Finals in December.
The Japan Open was Tai’s first tournament since being eliminated by Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand at the Paris Olympics on July 31. It is also the fourth event the Taiwanese star has withdrawn from this year.
Despite her withdrawal, Tai’s semi-final finish is expected to boost her ranking to world No. 3 in the latest standings, especially given the absence of the top three players — An Se-young of South Korea, Chen Yufei of China and Carolina Marin of Spain.
In the men’s singles, Chou was on the verge of securing a long-awaited high-level title after his semi-final victory.
The Taiwanese ace, now ranked world No. 10, cruised past Japan’s world No. 8 Kodai Naraoka 21-14, 21-16 in 55 minutes.
It was Chou’s fifth victory over the 23-year-old rising star, who has yet to defeat him.
The win represents a huge step for the 34-year-old veteran, who was diagnosed with early-stage colorectal cancer early last year.
Victory secured his first final berth at a high-level tournament in two years.
Chou has reached two previous finals this year, both at Super 300 tournaments. He also won the Thailand Masters title in February.
His last appearance at a Super 750 or higher final was at the 2022 Japan Open, at which he finished runner-up.
Chou faces France’s Alex Lanier in the final today. The 19-year-old, ranked world No. 24, upset world No. 1 Shi Yuqi of China 17-21, 24-15, 21-19 to reach the final.
In the mixed doubles, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet eliminated Yang Po-hsuan and Hu Ling-fang of Taiwan 21-18, 15-21, 21-19.
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