World number one beat Canadian Lai 13-21, 22-20, 21-16
\n PARIS
\nWorld number one Shi Yuqi survived two match points on Saturday to book a world championship final meeting with Thai titleholder Kunlavut Vitidsarn, as top seed An Se-young was upset on the women\u2019s side of the draw.
\nChinese star Shi battled back from 18-20 down in the second game to beat Canadian youngster Victor Lai 13-21, 22-20, 21-16 and keep his bid for a first world title alive.
\n\u201cI felt an emotional release when this one ended,\u201d a breathless Shi said after 80 gruelling minutes on court.
\n\u201c(Lai) played exceptionally well indeed. Although I trailed and faced sustained pressure throughout, I remained in a remarkably composed state.\u201d
\nLai, a 20-year-old student at York University in Toronto, told reporters his \u201cunbelievable\u201d run to a bronze medal in Paris might just convince him his future lies away from kinesiology.
\n\u201cThe past couple of years has been school but I think after now and this year I will focus more on badminton and put school to the side,\u201d he said.
\nShi will face third seed Kunlavut in Sunday\u2019s final after the 2023 winner overcame Danish second seed Anders Antonsen 21-17, 21-15.
\n\u201cShi is the world number one and I have a lot to learn from him,\u201d said Kunlavut, who will be seeking gold after losing last year\u2019s Olympic Games final in the same venue.
\n\u201c(It\u2019s a) very good arena and very nice place. Tomorrow (Sunday) I go to the final again and I hope to try my best.
\n\u201cFor me, I think I (have to) step up because my performance is not good enough. Sometimes it\u2019s very high and very low.\u201d
\nSouth Korean An, the defending women\u2019s champion and world number one, suffered a \u201cbitter\u201d upset against Chinese fourth seed Chen Yufei 21-15, 21-17.
\n\u201cI couldn\u2019t manage to get used to the conditions of the hall today, so it was a bit of a bitter match for me,\u201d An told reporters through an interpreter.
\nChen will face Japanese fifth seed Akane Yamaguchi in the final.
\nYamaguchi saw off Indonesia\u2019s Putri Kusuma Wardani 21-17, 14-21, 21-6.
\nFormer world silver medallist Chen capitalised on a rare sluggish start by An to take the opening game \u2014 the first dropped all week by the Paris 2024 Olympic gold medallist.
\nChen suffered a nasty-looking ankle twist early in the second game, but the 27-year-old shook off the pain to clinch a straight-games victory.
\n\u201c(Chen twisting her ankle) didn\u2019t mean that the match actually ended, so I was busy taking care of my match, and I guess I lost my way at the same time,\u201d the 23-year-old An added.
\nHer opponent skipped speaking to the press to receive treatment immediately after the match.
\nTwo-time champion Yamaguchi produced a scintillating third game to storm into the third world championship title match of her career.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s been a while since I\u2019ve played in a final,\u201d said the 28-year-old, who came into the match having been eliminated from her last five consecutive tournaments at the semi-final stage.
\n\u201cI reckon I\u2019ll just go for it… I\u2019m hoping to keep challenging myself and enjoy the experience.
\n\u201cI still don\u2019t think (my chances of winning are) that high, but since it\u2019s the final now, I\u2019d like to go in feeling like I\u2019ve got a 50-50 chance.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
World number one beat Canadian Lai 13-21, 22-20, 21-16 PARIS World number one Shi Yuqi survived two match points on Saturday to book a world championship final meeting with Thai titleholder Kunlavut Vitidsarn, as top seed An Se-young was upset on the women\u2019s side of the draw. Chinese star Shi battled back from 18-20 down […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-500321","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n