World Tour Finals: ‘MatsuShida’ on Course
Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida -- 'MatsuShida' to fans -- scored their first win over second seeds Baek Ha Na/Lee So Hee in seven matches to move a step closer to qualifying for the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2023.
· DEV SUKUMAR
In women’s singles, Kim Ga Eun’s quarterfinal victory helped her vault into contention for the season finale as No.2 Akane Yamaguchi is under an injury cloud.
Matsuyama and Shida are currently fifth in the BWF World Tour Rankings, with their compatriots Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota looking to overtake them for Japan’s second qualifying spot behind No.2 Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara.
Matsuyama/Shida were 2620 points ahead of Fukushima/Hirota at the start of the LI-NING China Masters 2023 and had to avoid losing early to prevent a close call. The world No.5 pair did just that by beating Jongkolphan Kititharakul/Rawinda Prajongjai and Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning on their way to the quarterfinals.