After 11 attempts, Han Yue finally got her first win over her more-decorated compatriot Chen Yu Fei at LI-NING China Masters 2025.

The 25-year-old edged the quarterfinal against the three-time champion 22-20 13-21 21-19 after battling it out for 65 minutes.

“I was definitely excited at the moment of winning but now I’ve calmed down a bit,” Han said post-match.

Han credited her ability to adapt to the match conditions for tipping the balance in her favour, even after letting Chen rally from five points down to level at 17-all in the deciding game.

“My opponent might still be in recovery, so the pace felt a bit slower. I focused on playing my own game and staying composed and that helped me seize the opportunities.”

Han plays Kim Ga Eun in the last four after the Korean staged a strong comeback to defeat another tournament favourite, Wang Zhi Yi, 13-21 21-17 21-11.

“I’m happy with this result, it’s been a while since I reached a semifinal,” said Kim. “I was relaxed and didn’t feel any pressure. I could execute my cross court plays well, especially during attacks.”

This marks Kim’s first semifinal after winning the Korea Open in August last year. Her only Super 750 semifinal came prior to that, incidentally also at the China Masters, in 2023.

For Wang, the defeat ends her remarkable run of not losing before the semifinals on the HSBC BWF World Tour since the Orleans Masters in March.

Kim will be joined tomorrow by fellow Koreans An Se Young, Kim Won Ho/Seo Seung Jae, Baek Ha Na/Lee So Hee and Kim Hye Jeong/Kong Hee Yong.

Of those, Baek and Lee’s quarterfinal win was the most dramatic – the world No.9s saving three match points against second seeds Pearly Tan/Thinaah Muralitharan before going on to seal a 23-21 19-21 22-20 result.

“We were on the brink of losing but I kept telling Lee we shouldn’t give up. We stuck at it and eventually won so we are very happy,” said Baek.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

• Injury forced men’s singles third seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn into retirement against Christo Popov.
• Anders Antonsen convincingly defeated Alex Lanier 21-18 21-14 in the ‘Battle of Europeans’.
• Lin Chun-Yi broke home hearts ousting fourth seed Li Shi Feng 21-16 21-15.
• Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik get a chance to avenge their World Championships quarterfinal loss to Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty. Both pairs won their semis in straight games.

→ Results (Quarterfinals)

→ Order of play (Semifinals)