Tomoka Miyazaki stopped by ‘dark horse’ from Chinese Taipei in quarter-finals ‘Pearly-Thinaah’ pair of Malaysia a step closer to defending Women’s Doubles title

“LI-NING Hong Kong Open Badminton Championships 2025 part of the HSBC BWF World Tour Super 500” continued with its quarter-finals at the Hong Kong Coliseum on Friday when fourth seed and world number nine in the Women’s Singles Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan falling under the hands of ‘dark horse’ Lin Hsiang-Ti of Chinese Taipei.

At 19, the talented youngster reached the semi-finals in Hong Kong last year but was unable to repeat the feat after losing to Lin in three games 13-21, 21-9, 14-21. The Chinese Taipei shuttler, who also routed out another seeded player Supanida Katethong of Thailand in the opening round, will now face defending champion Han Yue of China for a place in the final.

In the Women’s Doubles, defending champions Pearly Tan and Muralitharan Thinaah of Malaysia, who also clinched a silver medal at the recent World Championships in Paris, cruised over compatriots Go Pei Kee and Teoh Mei Xing 21-12, 21-15 to reach the semi-finals, moving a step closer to defending their title..

Miyazaki was crowned the junior world champion in 2022 and held a 4-1 head-to-head record over her Chinese Taipei opponent before match. But it was underdog Lin that drew the first blood with a 21-13 win. Miyazaki responded quickly and levelled the overall score to 1-all when she won the second by a big margin 21-9. The two players rallied in the opening stages of the deciding game before Lin pulled away midway through with a 15-10 lead. The Chinese Taipei shuttler, who lost in the opening round of the 2023 Hong Kong Open, never looked back and won the game 21-14 to reach her first semi-finals at the Coliseum.

Miyazaki praised the opponent after her defeat, saying Lin was more aggressive on the court, forcing her to play a defensive role. “I could not keep my focus in the closing stages and allowed the opponent to take the initiative,” said the Japanese player, who did not forget to thank the fans as many of them used Japanese to support her during the match.

Lin was delighted to beat Miyazaki again since they clashed in Macau Open a year ago, especially after losing all the four previous encounters. “She is a better player with a higher ranking and therefore I have nothing to lose against her,” Lin said. “There was little pressure for me so that I could approach the match in a very calm manner. The result was a bit surprising as my target was set a spot in the quarter-finals.

“I would probably take a similar approach when challenging Han Yue of China in the semi-finals as she is the second seed and a very good player. I would try my best but will also enjoy the opportunity of playing against such a quality opponent.”

Defending champion Han had a tough match against fifth seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in their quarter-finals clash, especially when the Thai player took seven points in a row to come from behind to level the score at 16-all in the first game. But thanks to the support of the crowd, she managed to win the game 24-22 after deuce. Boosted by the result, Han was made easier in the second when she wrapped up the tie 21-14 and improved her head-to-head record against the Thai to two wins and six defeats.

After winning the first game, Han was so excited that she cried out loud and held her fists. “I wanted to release the pressure after winning the big points in the crucial stages as it was very important. Intanon is a quality player and is very strong in attack, forcing me to lose many points. If I want to win again, I have to adjust my play quickly.”

The Mainlander said she had no pressure of returning to the tournament as the defending champion, just taking it match by match to see how far she could go this time. “I have played here for many years and the fans are always supportive. I quite like playing in Hong Kong.”

Another defending champion pair, Tan and Thinaah of Malaysia said they made quite a lot of errors in their Women’s Doubles tie against fellow countrywomen Go Pei Kee and Teoh Mei Xing and had to avoid making similar mistakes when they face Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian of China in the semi-finals.

“We made too many errors in the second game today, especially in the closing stages when we were too eager to win. We must avoid this when playing against the Chinese pair as they are very good players and will punish us quickly if we commit the same mistakes.”

The Malaysian pair said they had no pressure of being the defending champions even if they were now just two matches from winning the title again. “We just take it with a calm attitude as we believe our own ability and believe our partners. What we can do is to keep trying our best on the court as there is no forever winner or forever loser.”