The USD300,000 Yonex French Open Superseries men's singles final is between South Korean professional Lee Hyung-II Korean and China youngster Shi Yuqi after the duo scored straight sets wins over their opponents in the semi-finals at Stade Pierre de Coubertin in Paris on Saturday.
The 36-year-old Hyung-II continued his fine form in the French Open as he dished out his badminton skills once again to defeat Hong Kong's No 8 seed Angus Ng Ka Long 21-17, 21-15 in 39 minutes.
In the quarter-finals the Korean veteran had knocked out No 5 seed Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan 24-22, 21-16. Earlier he had knocked out No 2 seed and Olympic bronze medallist Viktor Axelsen of Denmark who he had also beaten in the Yonex Denmark Open last week.
Shi Yuqi took care of Taiwan's Hsu Jen Hao 21-7, 21-15 in his semi-final match which lasted 44 minutes.
China-born Zhang Beiwen of the United States has turned out to be the surprise package in Paris as she stormed into the women's singles final with a surprise win over No 7 seed Sun Yu of China. Beiwen won 21-19, 21-15 in 44 minutes.
Her opponent in the final is another unseeded player He Bingjiao who dumped No 5 seed Sung Ji-hyun of Korea 27-25, 21-17 in 59 minutes.
However, the match of the day was certainly in the women's doubles which kept the packed stadium on their feet as China's Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan and Rio Olympics champions Misaki Matsumoto-Ayaka Takahashi battled for a place in the final.
The Chinese pair knocked out the top seeds and world No 1 Japanese pair in a three-set thriller 16-21, 29-27, 21-15 in a marathon 99 minutes match for a crack at the title against Korea's No 6 seeds Chang Ye-na-Lee So-hee. The Koreans defeated China's Huang Dongping-Li Yinhui 21-14, 21-18 in their quarter-final match.
Thailand's Bodin Isara-Nipitphon Phuangphuapet who crushed reigning All-England champions Vladimir Ivanov-Ivan Sozonov 21-14, 21-14 in the quarter-finals continued their rich form in Paris.
The Thais upstaged No 8 seeds Angga Pratama-Ricky Karanda Suwardi 21-18, 17-21, 21-19 in 68 minutes – one of their best matches in their badminton career. Their reward is the final against No 2 seeds Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen of Denmark.
The experienced Danes outplayed their inexperienced compatriots Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen 21-19, 21-17 in 57 minutes in the other semi-final.
RESULTS (ALL SEMI-FINALS)
Men's singles
Shi Yuqi (Chn) beat Hsu Jen Hao (Tpe) 21-7, 21-15
Lee Hyun-II (Kor) beat Angus Ng Ka Long (Hkg) 21-17, 21-15
Men's doubles
Bodin Isara-Nipitphon Phuangphuapet (Tha) beat Angga Pratama-Ricky Karanda Suwardi (Ina) 21-18, 17-21, 21-19
Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen (Den) beat Kim Astrup-Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (Den) 21-19, 21-17
Women's singles
Zhang Beiwen (USA) beat Sun Yu (Chn) 21-19, 21`-15
He Bingjiao (Chn) beat Sung Ji-hyun (Kor) 27-25. 21-17
Women's doubles
Chang ye-na-Lee So-hee (Kor) beat Huang Dongping-Li Yinhui (Chn) 21-14, 21-18
Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan (Chn) beat Misaki Matsutomo-Ayaka Takahashi (Jpn) 16-21, 29-27 12-15
Mixed doubles
Zheng Siwei-Chen Qingchen (Chn) beat Zhang Nan-Li Yunhui (Chn) 21-15, 21-19
Ko Sung-hyun-Kim Ha-na (Kor) beat Joachim Fischer Nielsen-Christinna Pedersen (Den) 21-18, 21-19
