MULHEIM AN DER RUHR, Germany, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Top-seeded Akane Yamaguchi from Japan outplayed China's fifth seed Wang Zhiyi here on Friday to secure the women's singles semifinal spot at BWF 2023 Yonex German Open.

Yamaguchi smashed an overwhelming 16-2 run at the beginning of the third game against Wang and finally won the match 21-18, 16-21, 21-14.

"I was losing points so quickly during the third game. That's definitely not like what I expected," said 22-year-old Wang.

After the match, Wang holds a 3-3 record against Yamaguchi, but lost the recent three matches.

"We were very close in the previous encounters. I didn't win the game because of the key points, the details or the momentum. But this time, Akane led the scores so many that I couldn't press her anymore," Wang said.

Speaking of Paris 2024, the Tokyo Olympics contender said it will take a lot of competitions to win the qualifications.

"I haven't thought too far but I hope to see progress from every tournament I play this year," said Wang.

Olympic champion Chen Yufei defeated Pornpawee Chochuwong from Thailand 21-15, 21-18, and fourth seed He Bing Jiao knocked off Hsu Wen-chi from Chinese Taipei 21-17, 21-13.

In the men's singles, Chinese shuttler Lu Guangzu retired from the match against Ng Ka Long Angus from Hong Kong, China during the second game due to the injury. Li Shifeng took the win over Lin Chun-yi from Chinese Taipei, 21-7, 22-20.

The fifth-seeded mixed doubles pair, Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping, booked the semifinal spot with an easy victory over Yang Po-hsuan and Hu Ling-fang from Chinese Taipei, 21-7, 21-14. Enditem

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