Calgary: The 2023 Canada Open witnessed some unexpected turns of events as Ratchanok Intanon, Thailand’s former women’s singles world champion, advanced to the final. Although the semi-finals are scheduled for Saturday, Intanon, the second seed and currently ranked eighth in the world, received a walkover from her semi-final opponent, Zhang Beiwen of the United States, who withdrew from the tournament due to an Achilles injury.
In the quarter-finals, Zhang Beiwen faced a tough challenge against Sung Shuo Yun of Chinese Taipei but emerged victorious with a score of 21-12, 24-22.
Highlights of Zhang Beiwen vs. Sung Shuo Yun in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Canada Open:
Unfortunately, her right Achilles injury worsened, forcing her to retire from the semi-finals. Zhang expressed her gratitude to everyone who reached out to her and apologized to her fans for not being able to continue with the Facebook post below. She vowed to return to the court as soon as possible.
Intanon now awaits the winner of the match between Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi, the top-ranked player in the world, and India’s PV Sindhu, ranked 15th. Yamaguchi and Sindhu have a history of intense encounters, with Sindhu holding a lead of 14 victories in their previous 24 matches.
In the men’s singles competition, two Japanese players, Kodai Naraoka and Kenta Nishimoto, secured their places in the semi-finals. Naraoka, seeded third, will face China’s Li Shifeng, currently ranked 10th in the world. Nishimoto, the fourth seed, will compete against India’s rising star Lakshya Sen, who is currently ranked 19th.
Naraoka faced a challenging match against Chinese rising star Lei Lanxi in the quarter-finals, ultimately prevailing with a score of 21-18, 18-21, 21-14. Li Shifeng, the fifth seed, defeated Japan’s Watanabe Koki with a score of 15-21, 23-21, 21-12 to secure his place in the semi-finals. The clash between Naraoka and Li Shifeng promises to be an exciting battle between two talented young shuttlers.
In the doubles events, Japan’s top-seeded pairs encountered unexpected setbacks. Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi, the top seeds in men’s doubles, as well as Watanabe Yuta and Higashino Arisa, the top seeds in mixed doubles, were both defeated in the quarter-finals. In other quarter-final match, Chinese Taipei’s Li Yang and Wang Chi-lin, the Tokyo Olympic champions, emerged victorious over Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in a thrilling men’s doubles match, securing a spot in the semi-finals.
Highlights of Li Yang/Wang Chi-lin vs. Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan in the 2023 Canada Open quarter-finals:
Saturday’s semi-finals promise an array of exciting matches as players compete for a place in the finals of the 2023 Canada Open.
