China displayed its prowess by taking three of the four berths in the women's singles semifinals at the Asian Badminton Championships here on April 26.
Chen Yufei, Cai Yanyan and He Bingjiao all made it to the semifinals with straight-set wins. Top seed Chen overcame Aya Ohori of Japan 21-17, 21-19, unseeded Cai beat Olympic runner-up Pusarla V. Sindhu of India 21-19, 21-9, and 5th seed He downed 2nd seed Nozomi Okuhara of Japan 21-16, 23-21.
The victories are of great significance as they marked the first time for Cai to make it to the semifinals of the championship, and also the first win for He in her seven head-to-head matches against Okuhara.
"We all did very hard in our training and displayed our steady progress in the championships," said Chen. "And I think we will achieve more in the coming matches."
In the semifinals on Saturday, Chen will play 3rd seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, with Cai facing He in the other all-Chinese match.
"The second semi is a sure bet for China," said Chen. "I will do my best to win the first (against Yamaguchi)."
