On May 4, Beijing time, the 2024 Uber Cup entered the semi-finals, and finally the Chinese women's team defeated the Japanese team 3-0 and successfully advanced to the finals, reaching the finals for the 20th time, with very good results, and 20 finals in 21 participations.
1. Chen Yufei 21-18, 21-15 Aya Ohori
2. Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan 14-21, 21-13, 23-21 Naomi Matsuyama/Chiyo Shida
3, He Bingjiao 21-8, 21-18 Okuhara Hope
Chen Yufei took the lead by a big score at the beginning, and was tied and overtaken by the opponent after the middle game, but Chen Yufei did not mess up the rhythm, bit slowly, and played again at the end of the game, and controlled the rhythm of the game from the beginning of the second game, and the score was always suppressed by the opponent, and the score control was very good.
Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan was the most difficult game, encountering the opponent's strong attack in the first game, and appeared relatively passive on the court, but fortunately played his own characteristics at the beginning of the second game and found his own state.
The first half of the deciding game was very stale, Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan also had a small lead, but was overtaken by the Japanese combination 11-10 near the middle game, and the back was obviously sluggish 12-18 behind, but tied the score, and saved the match point later, of course, Matsuyama Nawei's mistake in the key score gave a chance, Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan did not give up, played very tenacious, and shot very resolutely.
He Bingjiao led 15-0 at the beginning, won the first game very easily, and in the second game, Okuhara hoped that the state would pick up, but He Bingjiao basically controlled the game process, Okuhara hoped that after all, it was the women's singles champion of the World Championships, but it was currently at a low point.
Aya Ohori said: At the beginning, the opponent took the lead and was pulled into her rhythm. I really didn't control some of the balls and I needed to improve my fitness. Her technique is certainly good, but the gap between me and her fitness is even bigger. Later, when I was tired, she seemed to be at ease, which was what I needed to strengthen the most.
Jia Yifan said after the game that this is the charm of the team competition, everyone has pressure, the opponent also has pressure, we are fighting at home, this atmosphere, we are all nervous, we are also people, there will be abnormal times.
(Chen Qingchen) kept saying that I should send the ball first, and then leave the rest to her, believe her. So when it comes to key points, even if I make a lot of mistakes, we still believe in each other.
After 11 points to change sides, I also called an injury stoppage and tried everything I could to make myself feel a little better, of course, the opponent was also trying to do everything possible to get stuck in the score. As long as we don't get to the end of the game, even if we are 12:20 down, we will not give up, and we will be relieved when that feeling of dying and struggling is found.
Chen Qingchen said that I think the two of us are one person, her mistake is my mistake, and the mistake is also normal, if you make a mistake, you will get the points back. When we were behind, everyone was shouting, we must stand up, and we will die on the court until the last point.
When asked what was the truest feeling at the time of winning the last point?
Chen Qingchen: I'm really tired, I think I can lose two points after this point, and if this point is won by them, we will have to grab two more points. The last point is over, and it feels like it's really time to rest today.
Chen Qingchen burst into tears and celebrated after winning the game, releasing the pressure, it was too painful to achieve, their sense of team honor was very strong, and they really wanted to get this point for the Chinese team, Shida Qianyang also cried after the game, maybe he felt unwilling, and the lead was reversed so much.
In another game, South Korea upset 2-3 loss to Indonesia, becoming the big dark horse of this competition, Indonesia defeated Thailand, South Korea two seeds in a row, the players in the five-set game have a certain strength, win South Korea by three sets of singles, itself doubles is South Korea's strength.
Of course, An Xiying's absence gave Indonesia a chance, even if An Xiying lost to Mariska, Shen Youzhen would not lose to Esther in the second single, and Jin Jialan was stronger than Jin Minxuan, and the chance of winning the opponent was greater, so An Xiying was indispensable.