On May 4, 2024, Beijing time, the Badminton Thomas Cup, the World Badminton Men's Team Championships, continues to be held. The Thomas Cup is divided into a group stage and a knockout stage, with every four teams playing a group round-robin and advancing to the knockout stage according to their points ranking. The Thomas Cup is held every two years, and the team with the most championships in history is Indonesia, with a total of 14 titles, followed by the Chinese men's team with 10 titles. The defending champions of this tournament are the Indian men's team, who won the tournament with a 3-0 victory over Indonesia last time out.
In the group round-robin, they defeated Australia and Canada 5:0, and in the last group stage, they won 3:2 against the South Korean team to advance. In the 1/4 match, the national feather men's team defeated the Indian team 3:1 and successfully advanced to the semifinals, and will compete with the Malaysian team for the final seat on this match day.
Shi Yuqi 2:0 Li Zijia
Shi Yuqi is ranked No. 2 in the world, Li Zijia is ranked No. 10 in the world, and the two sides have played each other 5 times in history, and Shi Yuqi has a 4-1 advantage. Although Shi Yuqi is the national feather men's singles, he has not won any important competitions such as the World Championships and the Olympic Games. Shi Yuqi was in poor form last season and did not win any individual matches, but this season his form has picked up, winning two Super 750 titles in a row, the Indian Open and the French Open. Li Zijia is famous for playing violent smashes, and has won the All England Open championship in his career, and his strength is good.
At the beginning of the game, the two sides launched a fierce fight, Shi Yuqi took the initiative to attack, and took a 6:3 lead at the beginning. Then Li Zijia scored consecutive violent smashes and once took an 8:6 lead, and Shi Yuqi entered the technical break with an 11:10 lead in the first half. Back on the field, the competition between the two was still fierce, and the scores of the two sides rose alternately, and finally Shi Yuqi won the game 21:19 and got off to a good start. In the second game, Shi Yuqi took advantage of the victory to chase after him, with momentum like a rainbow, and made a dream start of 11:1 in the first half and entered the technical break. In the second half, Shi Yuqi firmly controlled the game, continued to maintain the lead, and finally won the next game 21:5, winning with a big score of 2:0, making a good start for the national feather.
Leung Wai Keng/Wang Chang 1:2 Xie Dingfeng/So Wai Chak
Leung Wai Hang/Wang Chang are ranked No. 1 in the world, and Xie Dingfeng/So Wai Chak are ranked No. 5, and the two sides have met 6 times in history, with Leung Wai Hang/Wang Chang winning 4 wins and 2 losses. Leung Wai Hang/Wong Chang are the new men's doubles duo in the Paris Olympic cycle, having partnered since the start of 2022 and have since won consecutive tournaments including the Japan Open, soaring all the way to No. 1 in the world rankings. This season, Leung Wai Hang/Wong Chang have won back-to-back Malaysia Open and Asian Championships, with the only downside being their inconsistent form.
In the first game of the game, the Leung Wai Hang/Wang Chang combination quickly entered the state, making a dream start of 8:2 at the beginning, and then continued to maintain the lead, taking an 11-6 lead in the first half. Back on the field, although the Xie Dingfeng/Su Weize combination continued to chase points, the Leung Wei Keng/Wang Chang combination firmly controlled the game and continued to maintain the score lead, and finally won the game 21:15 and got off to a good start.
In the second game, after the two sides fought to a 3:3 draw, Xie Dingfeng/Su Weize continued to exert their strength and took an 11:7 lead in the first half to enter the technical break. In the second half, the Malaysian pair continued to maintain the lead, and the Liang Wang combination made continuous mistakes and finally lost 12:21. In the deciding game, Xie Dingfeng/Su Weize took a 4:0 lead at the beginning, and the Liang Wang combination then chased the points strongly, and entered the technical break with an 11-10 lead in the first half. In the second half, Xie Dingfeng/Su Weize fought back strongly, and after the two sides fought to a 17:17 draw, at the critical moment, the Malaysian pair scored 4 points in a row and finally won 21:17.
Li Shifeng 2:0 Liang Junhao
Li Shifeng is ranked 6th in the world and Liang Junhao is ranked 37th, regardless of the world ranking or historical record, Li Shifeng has an absolute advantage. Li Shifeng, a post-00 generation, is the No. 2 player in the national feather men's singles, who won the All England Championships and the Asian Games last season, and once surpassed Shi Yuqi in the world ranking to become the national feather men's singles. After winning the Asian Games, Li Shifeng's form fell into a slump, and the best result of the season was the runner-up match.
In the first game of the game, Liang Junhao was full of firepower and took a 5:1 lead at the beginning, and then Li Shifeng continued to chase points, and took an 11:10 lead in the first half to enter the technical break. Back on the court, Li Shifeng continued to control the pace of the game, and the score continued to lead, and finally won the game 21:17. In the second game, Li Shifeng took advantage of the victory to chase and made a dream start of 11:0 at the beginning. In the second half, Li Shifeng played steadily and steadily, continued to maintain the score lead, and finally won the next game 21:10, winning 2:0 and taking a 2:1 lead for the national feather.
He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu 2:1 Wu Shifei/Yi Zudin
He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu are ranked 11th in the world, and Wu Shifei/Izuddin are ranked 15th, and the two sides have met once in their history, when either combination was defeated. He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu have been competing together since the second half of 2023 and have won championships such as the Thailand Masters. According to the Olympic points ranking, the He Jiting/Ren Xiangyu combination has not participated in the Paris Olympics, but with the continuous running-in, I believe there will be better results.
At the beginning of the game, in the first game, the two sides launched a fierce offensive battle, and the score alternately rose to lead, and finally the Malaysian pair entered the technical break with an 11-10 lead. Back on the field, the score of the two sides was still deadlocked, and the Malaysian pair scored consecutive points at the critical moment, and finally won the game 21-18. In the second game, the two sides were still deadlocked, and it was difficult to distinguish the winner from the loser, and any combination took an 11-9 lead in the first half. In the second half, the scores of the two sides alternately rose to lead, and at the critical moment, any combination scored two points in a row, and finally pulled back a game at 21:19. In the tiebreaker, any combination entered the technical break with an 11-8 lead in the first half. In the second half, any combination continued to maintain the lead, and finally won the game 21-12, and the big score was 2-1 reversal to win.