Pictured: Fang-Chih Lee/Fang-Jen Lee (TPE)
Out of the four mixed doubles pair that made it to the semifinals, only one was seeded, and not one featured in last weeks CROWNE PLAZA Northern Marianas Open 2023 semifinals. The top seeds, who did not make it past round two last week, struggled against team USA, ending their mixed doubles campaign in Saipan.
- Presley Smith/Allison Lee (USA) vs Chang Ko-Chi/Lee Chih Chen (TPE) [1] 21-18 13-21 21-18
- Wei Chun Wei/Nicole Gonzales Chan (TPE) vs Fang0Jen Lee/Lin Yen Yu (TPE) 21-17 21-12
Shortly afterwards, Oceania’s only remaining interest in the tournament, Setyana Mapasa and Angela Yu dared to dream of playing in a final. After last night’s mammoth effort, the pair could not go back-to-back with another win but did stay competitive throughout the match. Meanwhile the fourth seeds could not make it another final, leaving that door open for the top seeds from Chinese Taipei.
- Sayaka Hobara/Yui Suizu (JPN) vs Setyana Mapasa/Angela Yu (AUS) 21-16 21-16
- Hsu Ya Ching/Lin Wan Ching (TPE) vs Lee Yu Lim/Shin Seung Chan (KOR) 21-14 21-12
Kim Ga Ram continues to make her mark at the Grade 3 tournaments, twice coming from qualifying in as many weeks, securing a place in tomorrow’s finals. Up against her compatriot, she sailed into a finals berth with a straight games victory. There seems to be no stopping the teenager from Japan. She will play in her second final in as many weeks which is an exact repeat of the week before.
- Kim Ga Ram (KOR) vs Kim Joo Eun (KOR) 21-19 21-12
- Tomaka Miyazaki (JPN) vs Asuku Takahashi (JPN) 19-21 21-12 21-8
Takuma Obayashi will make his first final in Saipan. The sixth seed powered through the first game, only to be subdued by the fast paced Su Li Yang. Starting the third game, the Japanese player took hold, increasing his lead and holding onto it to be a finalist at the TAKECARE Saipan International 2023. Two Koreans were in the second semifinal with nothing separating them until the final points of the third game. The 57-minute match had all the excitement to satisfy the crowd.
- Takuma Obayashi (JPN) [6] vs Su Li Yang (TPE) [3] 21-10 16-21 21-17
- Jeon Hyeok Jin (KOR) vs Lee Yun Gyu (KOR) 17-21 21-19 21-18
The men’s doubles had both Japan and Korea playing for a place in Sunday’s final. In the CROWNE PLAZA Northern Marianas Open 2023 it was an all Korea final. Tomorrow it will be an all-Chinese Taipei final with that match being the first cab off the rank.
- Chang Ko-Chi/Po Li-Wei (TPE) [1] vs Shuntaro Mezaki/Haruya Nishida (JPN) 21-15 23-21
- Fang-Chi Lee/Fang-Jen Lee (TPE) [3] vs Kakeru Kamagai/Kota Ogawa (JPN) 23-25 21-12 21-12
Follow the latest news and find out more on Badminton Oceania’s Facebook page.
Check out all of today’s results and tomorrow’s schedule on Tournament Software. The finals will begin at 2pm (local time, GMT+10) on Sunday 18 June 2023.
All five finals will be available to watch on the live stream for free, via Badminton Oceania’s YouTube channel – click here to watch.
