Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee found form at the end of an inconsistent year, coming good at the tournament they won last year by beating the reigning world champions.

The world No.7 Koreans turned around recent form against Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning, to whom they lost their last three encounters, all in straight games. Today the Koreans were more combative, eventually breaking through after sustaining the pressure at the end of a torrid third game.

“We weren’t positive in the third game, but when we gradually closed the gap we found the correct tactics and finally got the win,” said Baek.

“They are very fast; based on our meeting in the group stage, we prepared sufficiently and we surprised them.”

It was a good day for Korea, for Kim Won Ho/Seo Seung Jae joined their compatriots in the final. Like An, the world champions are in pursuit of a record 11^th title of the year.

“We are not yet thinking about it,” said Seo. “There’s still one match to go.”

Other Highlights

» Shi Yu Qi enjoyed a one-sided win over Kunlavut Vitidsarn, as he comfortably overcame the Thai 21-16 21-13.

» Jiang Zhen Bang/Wei Ya Xin beat world champions Chen Tang Jie/Toh Ee Wei for the second straight time since their World Championships final loss, 21-9 11-21 21-17.

What Others Said

“Today, our opponents really put the pressure on us. We didn’t do that well in defence. This is something to take note of and work on.” – Thinaah Muralitharan

“It was a tough match and Ratchanok’s performance was very good and I’m super happy to win the match. I think I didn’t find the correct tempo quick enough, but from the last match we played against each other, I think she had planned more in terms of the tactics to play against me.” – Wang Zhi Yi

“In the third game, we found that we struggled with stamina and keeping up our pace and speed. We put attention on defending instead of trying to score points. We want to continue fighting and I would like to hope that both of us qualify for the World Tour Finals next year.” – Hiroki Midorikawa

→Results (Semifinals)