PARIS, France — World number one Shi Yuqi of China fought from behind to win his first career men’s singles world championships title, while Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi secured a third world crown in a women’s final marked by injury. The finals concluded the World Championships on Sunday at the Adidas Arena.
A Hard-Fought Victory for Shi
Shi Yuqi outlasted Thailand’s reigning champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn in a grueling match lasting one hour and 17 minutes, with a final score of 19-21, 21-10, 21-18. After dropping a close first game, Shi dominated the second and edged a tense decider, breaking a personal world championships hoodoo that included a silver medal in 2018. As the winning shuttlecock landed long, Shi sank to his knees in relief, adding a world title to his recent string of Super 1000 triumphs. For Kunlavut, the silver medal was another heartbreak at the same venue where he lost the 2024 Olympic final.
Yamaguchi’s Third Crown
In the women’s final, fifth seed Akane Yamaguchi needed just 37 minutes to secure a 21-9, 21-13 victory over an injured Chen Yufei of China. Chen, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist, appeared hampered by a nasty-looking ankle twist she sustained in her semi-final win against reigning champion An Se-young. Yamaguchi took full advantage of Chen’s restricted movement to add a third world title to her gold medals from 2021 and 2022.
Results from the Other Finals
In the mixed doubles final, Malaysian fourth seeds Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei claimed a dominant 21-15, 21-14 victory over second-seeded Chinese pair Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin.
In the women’s doubles, China took revenge as top seeds Tan Ning and Liu Shengshu beat second-seeded Malaysians Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan 21-14, 20-22, 21-17.
The men’s doubles crown went to South Korean first seeds Kim Won-ho and Seo Seung-jae, who won 21-17, 21-12 against China’s Chen Boyang and Liu Yi.
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