Home badminton players book four titles at China Open in Changzhou

Home players have guaranteed four titles for the host nation at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) China Open in Changzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, as all-Chinese championship matches were booked in four events following Saturday's semifinals.

In the men's singles category, China's resurgent star Shi Yuqi maintained his strong form, defeating veteran Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei 21-13, 22-20. The victory sent Shi, who won last week's Japan Open, into his second consecutive final.

"After getting injured (Friday), I spent a long time on diagnosis and treatment," Shi said. "I felt some discomfort at the start of the match (Saturday), but it eased after I focused on the match."

Shi will face compatriot Wang Zhengxing in Sunday's final. The 23-year-old continued his surprise run at the high-level tournament, ousting Denmark's second-seeded Anders Antonsen 21-18, 21-15.

The women's singles semifinals featured a dramatic exit, as Olympic gold medalist An Se-young of South Korea retired injured while trailing China's Han Yue 21-19, 11-6.

Fighting back tears, An explained her decision after the match. "I felt uncomfortable from the start, and it got worse. To avoid more serious injury, I had to withdraw. I hope to recover quickly for next month's World Championships."

Han advanced to face compatriot Wang Zhiyi, who defeated two-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 22-20, 21-11.

China's dominance extended to the doubles events.

Women's doubles pairs Liu Shengshu/Tan Ning and Jia Yifan/Zhang Shuxian won their respective semifinals, and will face off for the championship. Meanwhile, the mixed doubles final will feature China's top two seeded pairs, as Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping take on Jiang Zhenbang/Wei Yaxin.

In the men's doubles competition, Indonesia's Fajar Alfian/Muhammad Shohibul Fikri defeated China's Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang 21-19, 21-17 in the last four. They will meet Malaysia's Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik for the title.