On January 17, 2025, the Indian Badminton Open continued! In the last match of the women's doubles quarter-finals that just ended, China's Liu Shengshu/Tan Ning faced Japan's Igarashi Yusa/Sakuramoto Ayako. Ultimately, the Japanese pair performed better, defeating the Shengtan pair 21-15, 21-19 in straight sets to advance! With this, the top four in the women's doubles event of this tournament have been determined. In other matches, China's Li Yijing/Luo Xumin eliminated Hong Kong's Yeung Ngai Ting/Yeung Pui Lin 2-0, Malaysia's Chen Kangle/Tina defeated Japan's Fukushima Yuki/Fukuhara Yuki 2-0, and South Korea's Kim Hye Jeong/Kong Hee Yong reversed their teammates, world number one Baek Ha Na/Lee So Hee 2-1! In the upcoming semi-finals, the upper half of the draw will see the Li Luo pair face the Japanese pair, while in the lower half, the South Korean pair Kim Hye Jeong/Kong Hee Yong will face the Malaysian pair Chen Kangle/Tina!
China sent three pairs to participate in this event: Liu Shengshu/Tan Ning, Li Yijing/Luo Xumin, and Jia Yifan/Zhang Shuxian. In the previous round, the Fanxian pair withdrew due to injury, while the Shengtan pair and the Li Luo pair each defeated their opponents to advance to the top eight! On this match day, the Chinese Li Luo pair took the court first against Hong Kong's Yeung Ngai Ting/Yeung Pui Lin. The Li Luo pair is currently ranked sixth in the world and made significant progress last season, especially after winning the Super 1000 China Badminton Open, which greatly boosted their confidence, followed by multiple events reaching the semi-finals and finals! They reached the semi-finals at the last Malaysia Open! The Hong Kong pair is ranked 14th in the world and had an average performance last season, falling short compared to the Li Luo pair! The two sides have met once before, with the Li Luo pair emerging victorious!
In the first set of this match, both sides were tied at 2-2, then the Li Luo pair scored four points in a row to take a 6-2 lead. The Hong Kong pair launched a counterattack and once tied the score at 7-7! The Li Luo pair regained control of the rhythm, scoring four points in a row to enter the break with an 11-7 lead! After the break, the Li Luo pair expanded their lead to 13-7 and ultimately held on to win the first set 21-12! In the second set, the Hong Kong pair took an 8-4 lead, then the Li Luo pair made a run of 8-0 to overtake the score at 12-8. The Hong Kong pair adjusted their state and scored three points in a row to close the gap! The Li Luo pair withstood the pressure, stabilized their lead, and won the second set 21-17 to advance to the semi-finals!
The world number two Shengtan pair from China took the court against Japan's Igarashi Yusa. The Shengtan pair performed outstandingly last season, winning six championships and also capturing the silver medal in the Paris Olympics women's doubles! The Shengtan pair is young and energetic, playing with passion and sharp attacks, becoming the most formidable weapon in China's women's doubles! Among the Japanese pair, Igarashi Yusa previously mainly partnered with Watanabe Yuta and achieved excellent results, once ranking first in the world. After Igarashi Yusa got married, she began to partner with Sakuramoto Ayako to focus on women's doubles, and this is the first event of the new season for this new pair! In the first set of this match, the Japanese pair quickly entered the game, taking a 3-0 lead and continuously attacking to expand their lead to 6-2! Eventually, the Japanese pair controlled the rhythm of the game to enter the technical timeout with an 11-6 lead! After the break, the Japanese pair exerted pressure at the net and controlled the rhythm of the game to expand their lead to 16-8! Ultimately, the Japanese pair held on to their lead, winning the first set 21-15!
In the second set, the Japanese pair led 4-1, then the Shengtan pair scored four points in a row to overtake the score at 5-4. The scores were once close, with the Shengtan pair scoring three points in a row to overtake the score after 7-9, eventually leading by one point at 11-10 into the break! After the break, the scores remained close! Ultimately, the Japanese pair seized the key points to win the second set 21-19 and advance to the semi-finals!
The first quarter-final in the lower half of the women's doubles draw was between Japan's Fukushima Yuki/Fukuhara Yuki and Malaysia's Chen Kangle/Tina! Fukushima Yuki previously mainly partnered with Hirota Ayaka, and since partnering with world champion Fukuhara Yuki, her record has soared, reaching the final at the last Malaysia Open and defeating the Chinese Fanxian pair to win the first Super 1000 event championship of the new season! The Malaysian pair is ranked seventh in the world and also had an impressive performance last season! The two sides met once last season, with the Japanese pair winning 2-1! In the first set of this match, the scores were closely contested, with the Malaysian pair seizing the key points at the end of the set to win the first set 21-18! In the second set, the Malaysian pair led 7-2, then the Japanese pair made a run of 5-0 to level the score! The scores were once close, constantly alternating leads! Ultimately, the Malaysian pair seized the key points again to win the second set 21-19 and advance to the semi-finals!
Another quarterfinal was an internal battle in South Korea, with world number two Baek Ha Na/Lee So Hee facing their teammates Kong Hee Yong/Kim Hye Jeong. The Bai Li pair had an eye-catching performance last season, winning four championships, including two Super 1000 event championships, as well as the Asian Championship women's doubles championship and the year-end finals women's doubles championship! All are heavyweight events! The other South Korean pair, Kong Hee Yong/Kim Hye Jeong, is the eighth seed of the tournament. Judging from their previous records and performances, the Bai Li pair clearly has the advantage in terms of strength! The two sides have no previous encounter record, and this match is their first meeting! In the first set of this match, the scores were closely contested, constantly drawing level, with the Bai Li pair finally seizing the key points to win the first set 23-21! In the second set, the Bai Li pair led 7-1 at the start, and the Jin Kong pair gradually launched a counterattack, once drawing the score to 11-11. Afterwards, the scores became entangled, with the Jin Kong pair scoring two points in a row after 19-19 to win the set 21-19 and level the total score! In the decisive set, the Jin Kong pair held off the counterattack of the Bai Li pair at the end of the set to win another set 21-18, reversing the Bai Li pair 2-1 in total score to advance to the top four!