An Se Young hits a return during the women's singles semifinal match between An Se Young of South Korea and Yamaguchi Akane of Japan at China Masters 2026 badminton tournament in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 5, 2026. (Photo by Chu Yan/Xinhua)
SHENZHEN, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- World No. 1 An Se-young reached the women's singles final at the China Masters badminton tournament on Saturday with her 31st straight win, while Japan's Tomoka Miyazaki upset China's Wang Zhiyi to join her.
Top-seeded An, who recently won her second world title, defeated third seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 21-13, 21-15.
The victory extended An's record this season to 49 wins and just one defeat. Her only loss came in the All England final in March, when Wang beat her in straight games.
An will face Miyazaki in Sunday's final after the Japanese youngster upset second seed Wang 21-19, 23-21.
In women's doubles, China's Bao Lijing and Cao Zihan continued their surprise run by beating fourth seeds Jia Yifan and Zhang Shuxian 21-14, 21-13 to reach their first final at a BWF World Tour Super 750 event.
The result marked another breakthrough for the young pair, who only became a fixed partnership in May. Their combined ranking was initially only 55th in the world, and they entered the main draw in Shenzhen through virtual ranking points.
After starting their first Super 750 tournament with a straight-game win, Bao and Cao continued to knock out higher-ranked opponents and reached the final at their first attempt.
They will face Japan's Sumire Nakade and Miyu Takahashi, who defeated compatriots Hirota Sayaka and Ayako Sakuramoto 21-16, 24-26, 21-16 in the other semifinal.
In men's singles, Hong Kong, China's Lee Cheuk Yiu defeated second seed Christo Popov of France 21-15, 21-19, while Jason Gunawan came from a game down to beat fifth seed Anders Antonsen of Denmark 15-21, 22-20, 21-16, setting up an all-Hong Kong final.
In mixed doubles, top seeds Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping of China beat Malaysia's eighth seeds Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Lai Jemie 21-11, 24-22. Malaysia's Hoo Pang Ron and Lai Pei Jing defeated China's Zhu Yijun and Li Qian 21-12, 21-10.
In men's doubles, India's fourth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty defeated Malaysia's Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub and Tan Wee Kiong, while China's He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu also advanced to the final.
The China Masters, a BWF World Tour Super 750 event, runs in Shenzhen from September 1 to 6. ■
An Se Young hits a return during the women's singles semifinal match between An Se Young of South Korea and Yamaguchi Akane of Japan at China Masters 2026 badminton tournament in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 5, 2026. (Photo by Chu Yan/Xinhua)
Yamaguchi Akane hits a return during the women's singles semifinal match between An Se Young of South Korea and Yamaguchi Akane of Japan at China Masters 2026 badminton tournament in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 5, 2026. (Photo by Chu Yan/Xinhua)
Hirota Sayaka/Sakuramoto Ayako (R) compete during the women's doubles semifinal match between Nakade Sumire/Takahashi Miyu of Japan and Hirota Sayaka/Sakuramoto Ayako of Japan at China Masters 2026 badminton tournament in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 5, 2026. (Photo by Chu Yan/Xinhua)
Nakade Sumire (R)/Takahashi Miyu compete during the women's doubles semifinal match between Nakade Sumire/Takahashi Miyu of Japan and Hirota Sayaka/Sakuramoto Ayako of Japan at China Masters 2026 badminton tournament in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 5, 2026. (Photo by Chu Yan/Xinhua)
Hirota Sayaka (R)/Sakuramoto Ayako compete during the women's doubles semifinal match between Nakade Sumire/Takahashi Miyu of Japan and Hirota Sayaka/Sakuramoto Ayako of Japan at China Masters 2026 badminton tournament in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 5, 2026. (Photo by Chu Yan/Xinhua)
Nakade Sumire (R)/Takahashi Miyu celebrate during the women's doubles semifinal match between Nakade Sumire/Takahashi Miyu of Japan and Hirota Sayaka/Sakuramoto Ayako of Japan at China Masters 2026 badminton tournament in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 5, 2026. (Photo by Chu Yan/Xinhua)
Nakade Sumire (R)/Takahashi Miyu react after the women's doubles semifinal match between Nakade Sumire/Takahashi Miyu of Japan and Hirota Sayaka/Sakuramoto Ayako of Japan at China Masters 2026 badminton tournament in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 5, 2026. (Photo by Chu Yan/Xinhua)
Jason Gunawan hits a return during the men's singles semifinal match between Jason Gunawan of China's Hong Kong and Anders Antonsen of Denmark at China Masters 2026 badminton tournament in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 5, 2026. (Photo by Chu Yan/Xinhua)
Jason Gunawan (L) reacts after the men's singles semifinal match between Jason Gunawan of China's Hong Kong and Anders Antonsen of Denmark at China Masters 2026 badminton tournament in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 5, 2026. (Photo by Chu Yan/Xinhua)
Anders Antonsen hits a return during the men's singles semifinal match between Jason Gunawan of China's Hong Kong and Anders Antonsen of Denmark at China Masters 2026 badminton tournament in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 5, 2026. (Photo by Chu Yan/Xinhua)
He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu (L) react during the men's doubles semifinal match between He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu of China and Tee Kai Wun/Yap Roy King of Malaysia at China Masters 2026 badminton tournament in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)
He Jiting (R)/Ren Xiangyu compete during the men's doubles semifinal match between He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu of China and Tee Kai Wun/Yap Roy King of Malaysia at China Masters 2026 badminton tournament in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 5, 2026. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)
