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Yamaguchi to face An in hunt for fourth badminton world crown / Photo: © AFP
Yamaguchi to face An in hunt for fourth badminton world crown
Defending champion Akane Yamaguchi stayed on course for her fourth badminton world championship crown and will face top-ranked An Se-young in the title showdown, while France's Alex Lanier reached the men's final on Saturday.
Japanese ace Yamaguchi beat Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand 21-12, 21-17 at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.
Yamaguchi looked in supreme touch as she went past her opponent, who got a walkover in the quarter-final after Nozomi Okuhara pulled out due to a knee injury, in game one.
The second game was close but world number two Yamaguchi's experience served her well as she moved into her fourth world championship final.
"I don't look back at the previous wins that much, but yeah, it is amazing that I am here today and looking forward to enjoy the final," said Yamaguchi.
Reigning Olympic champion and top-seeded An battled past China's world number three Wang Zhiyi 24-22, 21-16 in 61 minutes.
An, the 2023 winner, faced stiff competition from a determined Wang.
In the second game both players looked exhausted in humid Delhi, but An's resilience kept her on track for a second gold.
In men's singles, Lanier beat Victor Lai of Canada 16-21, 21-13, 21-14 in one hour and 25 minutes of intense action to assure himself of at least a silver.
Ninth-seeded Lanier, who became the first Frenchman to secure a world championship medal after his win in the quarter-final, lost the opening game but made Lai earn every point from being 7-0 down.
The 21-year-old Lanier bounced back in game two as his seventh-seeded opponent suddenly seemed to suffer from a loss of energy and the the world number 10 capitalised.
Lanier closed out the decider with impressive winners and fell down on his knees to celebrate victory.
"I don't feel that emotional at the moment," Lanier said after the gruelling battle. "I am too tired to feel how big it is, but I am just focusing on the next match tomorrow and do it the right way."
The mixed doubles pair of Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue had already made the day memorable for France with an earlier win in the semi-final over the Chinese duo of Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin.
Lanier will face Japan's Kodai Naraoka, who battled past Chou Tien-chien of Taiwan 17-21, 21-11, 21-10 in the second semi-final.
Chou won the opener but appeared to run out of steam in the final game, allowing Naraoka to dominate his flagging opponent and reach his first world championship final.
N.Wasilewski--GL
