PETALING JAYA: Chinese shuttler Lu Guangzu pulled off a stunner in the Asian Championships when he toppled teammate Li Shifeng to march into the final.
World No. 6 Shifeng was the favourite heading into the last-four match against world No. 20 Guangzu but the latter defied the odds to come from behind to triumph 19-21, 21-10, 21-14 in 78 minutes at the Ningbo Olympics Sports Centre Gymnasium in China yesterday.
The 28-year-old continued his dream run in the tourney after sending Indonesia’s defending champion and world No. 4 Jonatan Christie packing in the last eight a day earlier.
Guangzu has made it into the final in the Asian meet for the first time and will take on either Thailand’s reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn or Singapore’s 2021 world title winner Loh Kean Yew for the crown today.
The Chinese will be keen to capture what will be the biggest title in his career so far after being in the shadow of Shifeng and another teammate, world No. 1 Shi Yuqi so far.
Yuqi was surprisingly shown the door by Kean Yew in the quarter-finals.
Guangzu now has an opportunity to achieve what both Shifeng and Yuqi have never done, which is to win the Asian meet.
The last Chinese to triumph in the men’s singles of the competition was 2017 winner Chen Long.
Guangzu’s best achievement in the tourney previously was winning bronze in the 2023 edition after he went down to Kean Yew in the semi-final.
He last won a title in the 2024 Korean Open while his best achievement so far was finishing runner-up at home to Denmark’s two-time Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen in the World Tour Super 1000 China Open in 2023.
Meanwhile, it was disappointment for Shifeng, who was hoping to go one better after finishing runner-up to Jonatan last year.
The 25-year-old had to be satisfied with the bronze after he missed out on adding another big title following his victories in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and 2023 All-England in Birmingham.
