Tai Fights Through – World Tour Finals: Day 2
One former two-time champion teetered on the brink of elimination while another stayed alive at the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2019.
· DEV SUKUMAR
Viktor Axelsen, champion of the season finale in 2016 and 2017, fell to his second defeat in men’s singles Group B against Chou Tien Chen, leaving him with a mathematical chance of progressing to the semifinals. On the other hand, Tai Tzu Ying, champion in 2014 and 2016, lived dangerously before pulling herself together against Ratchanok Intanon and throwing women’s singles Group B into an interesting situation.
Tai was down 10-13 in the second game and struggled to find consistency, but once she edged through the second game, Intanon was the one under pressure against the sharpness and unpredictability of Tai’s strokes, and the Chinese Taipei player broke through, 11-21 21-18 21-16.
World champions Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong, who had suffered a straight-games setback yesterday, redeemed themselves in a difficult test against Hafiz Faizal and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja.