World Super Series 2017 Race to Semifinals: 5 in Singles, 8 in Doubles as Sindhu Enters 2nd Consecutive Knock Out

After two matches each of all events, Mixed Doubles became the only event to have all four semifinalists ready with one match each spare, while Group A of Women’s Doubles remained the only group where all four teams are still in contention till the last match whereas Group A of Men’s Doubles has 3 teams in contention till the last match. For Indians, it was a mixed day. PV Sindhu entered her 2nd semifinals in World Super Series, while Srikanth lost again and is set to finish at bottom. Overall, so far 4 from China, 2 each from Japan and Denmark, one each from India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong have sealed the semifinal spot.

Women’s Singles: 3 Semifinalists decided: Akane, Sindhu and Intanon
Group A

4th seed PV Sindhu and top seed Akane Yamaguchi are through to the semifinals with two straight wins. They will play tomorrow to decide the group topper. 7th seed He Bingjiao (China) and 10th seed Sayaka Sato (Japan) lost both matches and will play each other tomorrow to avoid last place finish.
Sindhu won 21-11 16-21 21-18 vs Bingjiao and 21-13 21-12 vs Sayaka.
Sindhu leads the group after 2 matches each and she leads Yamaguchi 4-2 in career meets, winning their last match at Hong Kong Open 2017.

Group B

Defending champion and 2nd seed Tzu Ying Tai (Chinese Taipei) was shocked by 5th seed Intanon (Thailand) who leads the group now with 2 straight win and has become the third in Women’s Singles after Sindhu and Yamaguchi from Group A to qualify for semifinals. A loss in straight sets tomorrow to 8th seed Yufei Chen (China) can push her to 2nd place, otherwise even in loss she will top the group. Tzu Ying Tai needs Yufei to lose against Intanon tomorrow for her to have a chance to qualify for semifinals. Otherwise, even if she defeats 3rd seed Hyun Sung (Korea) tomorrow in the last match, she can just finish at third place.
Standing is clear:
1. Intanon is through the semifinals. Group Ranking will be decided tomorrow.
2. Either Yufei or Tzu Ying can enter semis. If both win tomorrow, Yufei will race ahead. If both lose tomorrow, then also Yufei will win the race. But, if Yufei loses then a win will take Tzu Ying to semis.

Men’s Singles: Two semifinalists decided: Lee Chong Wei and Shi Yuqi
Group A

Withdrawal by Long Chen just before the tournament has made this group interesting. 6th seed Angus shocked top seed Son Wan Ho (Korea) to make the group wait for tomorrow to decide the second semifinalist when 4-time winner 4th seed Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia) play the top seed Korean. Lee Chong Wei is through to the semifinals even if he loses to Son Wan Ho, who just needs to win to edge past Angus in the race to semifinals. For Angus to reach semifinals, Son Wan Ho must lose. Close race.

Group B

3rd seed Shi Yuqi (China) is assured of semifinal berth with 2 straight wins, while defendeing champion Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) and Tien Chen Chou (Chinese Taipei) will play each other to decide the 2nd semifinalist from the group. Both have won a match each defeating 2nd seed Srikanth Kidambi, who is knocked out of tournament now. Even if he defeats Shi Yuqi tomorrow, he will finish at the bottom of the group as he has lost badly in both the matches in striaght sets. He lost 21-13 21-17 to Viktor and 21-18 21-18 to Tien Chen.

Men’s Doubles: Two semifinalists decided: Mathias/Mogensen (Denmark) and 4th seed Cheng/Nan (China)
Group A

5th seed Japanese pair of Takeshi/Keigo won both matches to top the group while 3rd seed Chinese pair of Junhui/Yuchen lost both matches. A loss in 3 sets will not stop the Japanese pair from entering the semifinals. But, a loss in straight sets to 6th seed Danish pair of Mads/Kolding may create trouble as they will be tied on points and Games won. If top seed Indonesian pair of Marcus / Kevin defeats 3rd seed Chinese pair in straight sets then all three teams will be tied on Game win loss ratio of 4-2. So, while chinese pair is knocked out, the race for top two will be decided only after tomorrow’s last games.

Group B

This group has no such complication as Group A. 2nd seed Mathias/Mogensen (Denmark) and 4th seed Cheng/Nan (China) are through to the semifinals with two wins each and will play each other to decide the group topper. 7th seed Korean pair of Lee / Yang and 8th seed Japanese pair of Takuro / Yugo will play each other to avoid bottom of group having lost both matches each.

Women’s Doubles: Two semifinalists decided: 2nd seed Yuki/Sayaka (Japan) and 5th seed Kamilla/Christinna (Denmark)
Group A

This group is the most open group of all the events. All the four teams have won one and lost one and tomorrow’s winners will enter the semifinals. Top seeds Japanese pair of Shiho/Koharu have lost to 6th seed Korean pair of Change/Lee, who have lost to Chinese pair of Chen/Jia today, who have lost to countrymate Huagn/Yu, who lost to top seeds Japanese pair today.

Group B

This group has no such complication as Group A. 2nd seed Yuki/Sayaka (Japan) and 5th seed Kamilla/Christinna (Denmark) are through to the semifinals with two wins each and will play each other to decide the group topper. 8th seed Korean pair of Jung / Shin and 10th seed Hsu / Wu (Chinese Taipei) will play each other to avoid bottom of group having lost both matches each.

Mixed Doubles: All semifinalists decided: Siwei/Chen (China) and Chun/Yung (Hong/Kong), Yilyu/Huang (China) and Tontowi/Natsir (Indonesia)
Two chinese teams and one team each from Hong Kong and Indonesia qualified for the semifinals. Top two seeds of both groups won both matches and are through to the semifinal. Tomorrow they will play each other to decide the group topper.
Group A:

Siwei/Chen (China) are top seeds while Chun/Yung (Hong/Kong) are 5th seed. 6th seed Indonesian pair of Praveen/Debby and 9th seed Japanese pair of Kenta/Ayane are knocked out with two consecutive losses. Tomorrow they will play to decide who finishes at bottom.

Group B:

3rd seed Chinese pair of Yilyu/Huang and 4th seeds Indonesian pair of Tontowi/Natsir won both matches and will play tomorrow to decide group topper. 2015 winner and 7th seed Adcocks from England and 8th seed Malaysian pair of Kian/Pei lost both matches and will play each other tomorrow to avoid last place finish.