On April 30, Beijing time, the mixed doubles event of the 2022 Badminton Asian Championships began to compete for the semi-finals, and Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong, Wang Yilu and Huang Dongping of the Chinese team successfully advanced to the final four. In the first semi-final, Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong staged a strong dialogue with Jordan and Melati of the Indonesian team, and in the end, Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong received a withdrawal gift from their opponents in the case of winning one set first and entered the mixed doubles final early. Judging from the competition, the IELTS combination is in good shape and has a chance to win the championship in this competition!
In this Asian Championship, in order to further investigate the players and configuration combinations, the national mixed doubles coaching team decided to let Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong play together again. In the previous All England Open, the IELTS group had cooperated, but in the end, it failed to reach the final. From the first game, Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong showed a good state, although they have not been paired together for a long time, but the tacit understanding between the two is still there. Compared with the Tokyo Olympic cycle, Zheng Siwei has declined in his offensive strength in the backcourt.
But Huang Yaqiong's dominance in front of the net seems to be stronger. The two played on the field to complement each other's strengths and played the style of the former world champion. In the last round of the match, Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong met with the Japanese combination of Yuki Kaneko and Matsutomo Misaki, and in the end, the IELTS combination was full of firepower, defeating the opponent by a large score of 2:0 to advance to the semifinals. After the game, the two said in an interview that the competitive state remained good and they were looking forward to reaching the final again and impacting the first mixed doubles championship trophy of the season.
In the semi-finals, facing old rivals Jordan and Melati, Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong were fully prepared before the match. The Indonesian duo, one of the main threats to the Chinese team's Olympic cycle in Paris, includes Thailand's Dechapol and Shasili, Japan's Yudai Watanabe and Higashino Yusa. Therefore, for the IELTS team, if they can beat the Indonesian pair to reach the final, the two still have the opportunity to continue to work together and represent the national mixed doubles in the Paris Olympic Games. In the first game, Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong have been in an absolute lead in the score, the Indonesian combination has entered the state slowly, and the IELTS combination has won 21:8 without bloodshed.
However, after the end of the first set, Jordan of the Indonesian team was injured and finally chose to retire after consulting with the referee, and Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong won without a fight and successfully entered the mixed doubles final. Some fans joked, "This Indonesian buddy has confused the IELTS combination, and the well-prepared tactics are not used and are over"! In the final, the potential opponent of the IELTS combination is the winner between the Yellow Duck group and the Japanese team. After the two have been paired this season, they have not yet stood on the highest podium, can they announce the return of the king with a championship trophy this time?
(Luo Treasurer)