Shi Yuqi of People’s Republic of China has reached the men’s singles final at this year’s BWF World Championships in Paris, ending the remarkable run of Victor Lai.
After saving two match points in the second game, the top seed edged past the unheralded Canadian 13-21, 22-20, 21-16.
Shi will meet the winner of the second semi-final between defending champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Thailand) and Denmark’s Anders Antonsen, while Lai will leave Paris as his country’s first ever world medallist in the sport taking home bronze.
After his shock win in the quarters against 2021 world champion Loh Kean Yew, the 20-year-old part-time student and part-time badminton player was close to producing an even greater upset in the Adidas Arena.
Top seed Shi got off to the better start but had trouble to deal with the remarkable shot selection of his opponent. who ran away with the first game after just 21 minutes.
It was a similar affair in the second game. Shi seemed to be in control, stormed to a 10-5 lead, only to see Lai win five straight points to draw level.
Shi showed nerves while Lai seemed unfazed by the big occasion. He even had two martch points at 20-18 but the Chinese star fought back to force a decider.
The Toronto-based student, who had only played one Super 500 tournament before Paris, played the match of his life and put up a brave fight in the third game despite trailing 5-0 early on and 11-6 at the change-over.
But Shi finally cut down on his unforced errors and sealed the win.
Lai started this season ranked 99th in the world, and entered Paris competition ranked 50th. He will further climb up the rankings after his unexpected exploits in the French capital.
The BWF World Championships are available to stream live (territorial restrictions apply) on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the Olympics mobile apps.