{
  "id": 2484076,
  "title": "Top-ranked An, holder Yamaguchi reach worlds semi-finals",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/top-ranked-an-holder-yamaguchi-reach-worlds-semi-finals",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-22T03:06:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/sports/badminton/2026/08/1516425/top-ranked-holder-yamaguchi-reach-worlds-semi-finals"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "South Korea's top-ranked player An Se-young and defending champion Akane Yamaguchi advanced to the semi-finals of the badminton world championships on Friday. Olympic champion An defeated China's fifth-ranked Han Yue 21-19, 21-12 at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, aiming for her second world title. An will face world number three Wang Zhiyi, who beat Denmark's Line Christophersen 21-10, 21-7 in the quarter-final. In women's singles, Japan's Yamaguchi, a three-time world champion, outplayed Canada's Michelle Li 21-17, 21-10 in 28 minutes. In the men's singles, Canada's Victor Lai struggled against Denmark's Rasmus Gemke, losing 21-19, 21-18. However, Lai bounced back by defeating unseeded Alex Lanier of France 21-19, 16-21, 16-21. Chinese player Kunlavut Vitidsarn lost to France's Alex Lanier 21-19, 16-21, 16-21, while Japan's Kodai Naraoka upset Denmark's Anders Antonsen 21-19, 21-15 to reach the final four. Taiwan's Chou Tien-chen secured a second medal after defeating Indonesia's Alwi Farhan 21-15, 21-15. Chou, the second oldest medalist at 36, will face Naraoka in the semi-final. Lai and Lanier will compete for the other semi-final spot.",
  "summary": "NEW DELHI: South Korea’s world number one An Se-young and defending champion Akane Yamaguchi registered strong wins to reach the semi-finals of the badminton world championships on Friday.",
  "key_points": [
    "South Korea's An Se-young and Japan's Akane Yamaguchi advance to badminton worlds semi-finals",
    "An defeats Han Yue 21-19, 21-12; Yamaguchi beats Li 21-17, 21-10",
    "Victor Lai and Alex Lanier face off in other semi-final spot"
  ],
  "editors_take": "An Se-young and Akane Yamaguchi's advancement sets up a potential showdown for the title as they move closer to claiming their respective spots in the women's singles final.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}