Sudirman Cup 2017: Championship Schedule After Semi-Finals Results
Defending champions China will meet South Korea in the final of the 2017 Sudirman Cup on Sunday after both teams won their semi-final matches at Gold Coast, Australia, on Saturday. South Korea beat Thailand 3-1, while China outlasted Japan 3-2 to keep their chances of retaining the title alive.
For a full breakdown of the results, go to the tournament's official website. The updated schedule can be found at SudirmanCup.com.au, while the current standings are available at Scoreboard.com.
Recap
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South Korea's youthful squad made light work of Thailand during the first session. They pulled off three-straight wins after Thailand had made a victorious start thanks to Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai, who won in the mixed doubles.
However, Son Wan Ho got the comeback bid started by beating Suppanyu Avihingsanon in the men's singles.
World No. 1 Son made hard work of his match, per SurdimanCup.com.au: "It took 80 minutes, almost twice the length of any other, to defeat World No. 62 Suppanyu Avihingsanon 18-21, 21-10, 21-17. The taller Thai was solid in all departments. Son had to execute winners in order to catch up and beat Avihingsanon."
The overall win was sealed for South Korea when Sung Ji Hyun overcame Ratchanok Intanon 21-13, 21-17 in the fourth match.
Sung won 42 rallies during the match, according to the tournament's official website. The 25-year-old's heroics have put the three-time champions back in another final.
As for China, their match with Japan followed a similar pattern as the defending champions lost the mixed doubles to give their opponents an early lead. However, China turned to Lin Dan to even things up, as he got the better of Kenta Nishimoto, 21-19, 21-16.
Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen then beat Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda in the men's doubles as China seized control. Junhui and Yuchen were superb in a tight contest, taking both games 23-21 and 21-16.
It was left to Sun Yu to seal China's place in the final, but Akane Yamaguchi had other ideas. She beat Sun in straight games, 21-17 and 21-15, to keep Japan's hopes alive.
However, those hopes were finally dashed when Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan bested Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi in the women's doubles.
China will now look to maintain its dominance in badminton by winning what should be an exciting final against South Korea.
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