Badminton: China's Liu/Ou secure Olympic spot, He Bingjiao beats world No. 1 An Se-young in Ningbo

In badminton, Team China have secured their berths for this summer's Paris 2024 Olympic Games in the men's and women's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles events.

During the ongoing Badminton Asia Championships, which takes place between April 9 and 14 in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province, the men's doubles pair of Liu Yuchen and Ou Xuanyi completed China's badminton lineup for the Paris Olympics. This tournament serves as the final opportunity for Asian shuttlers to secure a spot for the Games.

Chinese duo Liu/Ou and Lee Yang/Wang Chi-lin of Chinese Taipei, who ranked eighth and tenth, respectively, prior to the men's doubles quarter-final, were set to vie for the last berth.

The pair of Liu and Ou were edged out by Malaysian duo Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik 14-21, 15-21 on Friday, while Lee/Wang were defeated by another Malaysian pair, Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin, on Friday.

Therefore, Liu and Ou secured their Olympic berth as the eighth men's doubles pair.

Also on Friday, China's Shi Yuqi, the men's top seed, reached the semi-finals with a 22-20, 21-13 victory over Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn.

In the women's quarter-final, world number one An Se-young was dumped out of the tournament as the South Korean went down in straight games 21-17, 21-18 to China's He Bingjiao.

In the women's doubles quarter-finals, China's Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan outclassed Japanese pair Rena Miyaura and Ayako Sakuramoto 21-10, 18-21, 21-19 on Friday.

Another Chinese pair, Zhang Shuxian and Zheng Lu, defeated Japanese duo Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida 21-7, 21-16.

The all-Chinese women's doubles semi-final between Chen/Jia and Zhang/Zheng is scheduled for Saturday.

(With input from agencies)