It was the day of the Uber Cup semifinals on Thursday, May 24th.
Japan faced Korea, who are aiming for winning the second consecutive title. After Sayaka Sato(VT80) lost to the Koreafs No. 1 Ji Hyun Sung by 21-15, 21-10, world No. 4 pair Mizuki Fujii(VT70) and Reika Kakiiwa(AT900-T) walked into the court to play against world No. 3 Min Jung Kim and Jung Eun Ha. In the first game, Fujii and Kakiiwa were forced to make errors, however in the second game, they showed their characteristic, persistence to keep the opponent backward of the court. In the decider, the Korean pair geared up their attacking to earn 16 smash winners, which were 10 more times than the Japanese pair did. In the end they defeated Japanese pair with high offensive performances. Then, in the third match, Youn Joo Bae defeated Eriko Hirose(NS7700) by 21-15, 21-17, and Korea moved into the final. Japan captured two consecutive bronze medals.
In the other semifinals of the Uber Cup, China defeated Thailand by 3-0. In the singles, Ratchanok Inthanon faced off against Yihan Wang. Inthanon, who is just 17 years old, lost the match, however, she earned 18 smash winners more than Wang's 16.
The final of the Uber Cup, China vs. Korea, will be taking place on Saturday, May 26th. And today, in the Thomas Cup, Denmark will have a match against Korea, then Japan will face China.
Some YONEX players wear the limited edition shoes, "For players who know winning is everything". Carsten Mogensen(VTZF) wears SHB86LTD, which supports the foot even under strenuous movement. Please go to our web site for all the models.
We uploaded pictures of Thomas & Uber cup on YONEX's Facebook page. Please check them out.
Uber Cup Results
Semifinals [May 24th]
Korea def. Japan 3-0
China def. Thailand 3-0