Han Yue of China hits a return during the women's singles semifinal match against Kim Ga-eun of South Korea at the China Masters 2025 in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 20, 2025. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)
China's Han Yue secured a place in the women's singles final after a hard-fought 18-21, 21-17, 21-18 win over Kim Ga-eun of South Korea at the 2025 BWF China Masters here on Saturday.
"I felt nervous but tried to be bolder and more decisive. I'm very happy that I can hold on in the end," Han said, adding that she was fatigued but would adjust for the next match against An Se-young. "Tomorrow will be a very tough game. I hope I can enjoy it."
World No. 1 An of South Korea eased past Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 21-10, 21-14. "My physical condition is very good now," said An. "I don't always win, but what I can keep doing is having the drive to move forward and challenge myself, which leads me to victories."
In the men's singles, China's Weng Hongyang powered into the final after defeating France's Christo Popov 21-17, 21-18. "Given the overall strength of the French players, I focused more on tactics to make breakthroughs," commented Weng. Weng will next face Lin Chun-yi of Chinese Taipei, who bested Denmark's Anders Antonsen 21-19, 21-14.
Jia Yifan (L)/Zhang Shuxian of China compete during the women's doubles semifinal match against Baek Ha-na/Lee So-hee of South Korea at the China Masters 2025 in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 20, 2025. (Xinhua/Sun Fei)
China's women's doubles pair Jia Yifan and Zhang Shuxian cruised with a straightforward 21-7, 21-14 victory over South Korea's Baek Ha-na and Lee So-hee. However, their teammates Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning fell to another South Korean pair Kim Hye-jeong and Kong Hee-yong 18-21, 21-18, 19-21 in a tight three-game encounter, with Liu battling through noticeable knee discomfort throughout the match.
Meanwhile, in the men's doubles, India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, along with world champions Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae of South Korea, secured straight-set wins to advance.
In mixed doubles, both Chinese pairs fell in the semifinals. Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin suffered a straight-set loss to Thailand's Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran 21-17, 22-20, while Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping were defeated by Malaysian world champions Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei 24-22, 19-21, 17-21 after a match which lasted approximately 80 minutes.
"We weren't decisive enough at crucial points. It came down to courage," Huang said.
