“I will treat it as my last ever match in this tournament. I will give it my absolute best.”

That was the promise Li Shi Feng made his fans after surviving a gruelling 73-minute test against veteran Chou Tien Chen at the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2024 last night.

The 18-21 21-14 21-13 win puts Li back in the running for a semifinal spot after he lost his Group A opener in 58 minutes to Anders Antonsen on Wednesday. Victory over the already-qualified Lee Zii Jia in today’s round-robin finale – without dropping a game – could see him through. That would be a significant improvement on his group-stage outing at his debut Finals last year.

“No matter win or lose, I will show what I have and what I’m capable of,” said the 24-year-old.

“I’ve had two long matches but I feel fine physically. It’s the mental fatigue that concerns me. I was able to move on quickly from my opening defeat. My attention immediately shifted to the remaining matches and I’ve been successful in one of them. For now, my priority is to focus on my own play.”

Although he came out on top, Li expressed his admiration for Chou, 34. This is the Chinese Taipei stalwart’s fifth Finals.

“Chou is a great player. He’s 10 years older but he’s still out there competing at a high level. I admire him greatly.”

Despite his loss, Chou is not out yet. He could still pip Li and Antonsen if results go his way.

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WHAT OTHERS SAID

“We were braver. We had to win to keep our semifinal hopes alive. We didn’t think about defeating the second seeds, we just tried to play as best as we could.” – Amallia Cahaya Pratiwi after she and Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma surprised Rin Iwanaga/Kie Nakanishi 21-15 21-12

“It’s going to be a tough match. They are Olympic champions for a reason. Our preparation must be on point, after that it’s all about playing our best.” – Nur Izzuddin on him and Goh Sze Fei battling it out with Lee Yang/Wang Chi Lin for a place in the semis