Changzhou, July 24 (IANS) China suffered a double blow in men’s singles at the 2026 China Open in Changzhou on Friday as Shi Yuqi and Weng Hongyang both crashed out in the quarterfinals, leaving the host nation without a representative in the last four.
World No. 1 Shi Yuqi fought hard for 61 minutes against Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien-chen, but could not lock down the key points late on. The home favourite lost the three-game clash 21-14, 12-21, 21-15.
Weng also had no luck in his quarterfinals tie against Lin Chun-Yi from Chinese Taipei, losing a narrow opening game 27-25 and slipping to a 21-14 defeat in the second, reports Xinhua.
All four Chinese men’s singles players have now exited from the competition, with Lu Guangzu and Li Shifeng eliminated in earlier rounds.
Chou will meet his teammate Lin in the semifinals, while the other clash pits Canada’s Victor Lai against France’s Toma Junior Popov.
In women’s singles, China’s second seed Wang Zhiyi secured a smooth semifinal spot after beating South Korea’s Kim Ga-eun 21-18, 21-14. Wang will face Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi, who beat home star Han Yue 21-16, 14-21, 21-17.
Also on Friday, Olympic champion Chen Yufei bounced back from one game down to defeat Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon 15-21, 21-12, 21-13, advancing to the last four.
Chinese doubles sides kept up their winning momentum across three categories.
In mixed doubles, top-seeded pair Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping cruised past Chinese Taipei’s Yang Po-hsuan and Hu Ling-fang 21-15, 21-11. Guo Xinwa and Chen Fanghui delivered an exciting all-China upset, beating Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin 14-21, 21-18, 21-18.
Men’s doubles fourth seeds Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang defeated Denmark’s Daniel Lundgaard and Mads Vestergaard in straight games, while women’s doubles top seeds Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning also sailed through their quarterfinal match.
The semifinals will be held on Saturday. The 2026 China Open runs through Sunday.
–IANS
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