Ratchanok Intanon bowed out to old foe Akane Yamaguchi in the semi-finals of the BWF China Open in Fuzhou yesterday.
The fifth seeded Japanese avenged her Denmark Open loss to the Thai No.8, claiming the 21-14, 21-18 victory at Haixia Olympic Sports Center.
World No.6 Ratchanok rallied to beat then title-holder Yamaguchi in a three-game thriller in the Odense final last month to win her first Superseries title of the year.
Yamaguchi, 20, will now battle Chinese qualifier Gao Fangjie in today's title match of the US$700,000 (approximately 23.1 million baht) Superseries Premier tournament.
Gao, 19, sprang another major shock, ousting No.4 seed and reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain 21-19, 21-19 yesterday.
Gao earlier upset India's No.2 seed PV Sindhu, the China Open title-holder, 21-11, 21-10, in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Thamonwan Nithiittikrai. photo: credit
Meanwhile, top-ranked Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and Rio Games gold medallist Chen Long will vie for the men's singles trophy.
Axelsen continued his formidable form with a comprehensive 21-12, 21-17 win over Angus Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong.
China's Chen, who is seeded sixth this week, had to dig deep before defeating South Korea's No.2 seed Son Wan-Ho 21-17, 10-21, 21-7 in the second semi-final.
Ratchanok and several other Thai players will now head to Kowloon to compete at the Hong Kong Open next week.
The $400,000 (13.2 million baht) Superseries tournament will be held at Hong Kong Coliseum between Nov 21-16.
In the women's singles draw, Ratchanok, who is seeded sixth, will start her campaign against a qualifier, while Nitchaon Jindapol, who won the Bitburger Open in Germany a couple of weeks ago, will also play a qualifier.
Busanan Ongbamrungphan will meet Taiwan's Chiang Mei-hui, while Pornpawee Chochuwong will take on world No.1 Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan in her opening match.
Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk will also have a tough first-round assignment as he has been drawn to meet No.1 Axelsen in the first round of the men's singles.
THAMONWAN IN KOREA FINAL
Thamonwan Nithiittikrai will take on Hina Osawa in the final of the girls' U15 singles at the Korea Junior Badminton Championships today.
The second-seeded Thai defeated home star Jeong Da-Yeon 21-14, 21-13 in the last four at Miryang City Badminton Stadium in Gyeongnam.
No.7 Osawa of Japan came from behind to beat Jang Eun-Hwa 17-21, 21-19, 21-15 in the other semi-final.
Kunlavut Vitidsarn and Ruttanapak Tubthong both lost in the men's U19 singles semi-finals.
