All-China final in women's badminton doubles in Paris
It will be a guaranteed gold and silver for the national team as two Chinese pairs advanced to the final in the women’s doubles badminton event on Friday at La Chapelle Arena. In the first semi-final match, the pair of Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan beat their Malaysian counterparts 2-1. The world number one duo easily took the first game, 21-12, against Pearly Tan and Muralitharan Thinaah.  But the Malaysians fought back 21-18 in the second, the first game the Chinese duo dropped in five matches throughout the tournament in France. Chen and Jia then repeatedly targeted Tan, winning one point by directing multiple smashes at the Malaysian who managed a couple of acrobatic saves. The Chinese eventually prevailed and took the final game, 21-15, to book their place in the final. The two had won silver medals at the Tokyo Games. In the other match, Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning won in straight sets, after defeating Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida of Japan 2-0. Both sides fought aggressively in game one. The points were fairly equal until the national team pulled ahead to take it 21-16.  Though the Japanese team managed to win a few points in the first half of the second game, the Chinese pair were able to widen the gap, ultimately winning 21-19.