China's Women's Badminton Team Reaches Asian Games Semifinals With 3-0 Win Over Thailand

China's women's badminton team made a winning start to its campaign at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, defeating Thailand3-0in the quarterfinals on September 22 to advance to the semifinals.

As the top seed in the women's team event, China had received a first-round bye and therefore made its tournament debut in the quarterfinals. The team quickly settled into the competition and secured three consecutive victories to book its place in the last four.

World-class singles playerWang Zhiyiopened the tie for China against Thailand's experienced star Ratchanok Intanon.

Intanon took the first game 21-17, putting China under early pressure. Wang responded strongly in the second game, winning 21-18 to level the match.

The Chinese player then maintained her momentum in the deciding game. Wang controlled the pace more effectively and pulled away from her opponent before closing out the match 21-12.

The2-1 victorygave China the first point of the tie.

China then turned to its women's doubles pairLiu Shengshu and Tan Ning.

The Chinese duo dominated their Thai opponents Hattthaim and Naphapakorn from the beginning. Liu and Tan quickly established control and finished the match in straight games, winning21-9, 21-10.

With China leading 2-0, the team needed only one more victory to secure a place in the semifinals.

That decisive point came fromChen Yufei.

The former Olympic champion faced Thailand's Li Mengjiao and immediately took control of the opening game, winning 21-9. Li fought back in the second game and took it 21-19 to force a deciding game.

Chen responded under pressure in the third game. She regained control during the longer rallies and gradually opened up a lead before winning 21-12.

Her2-1 victorycompleted China's 3-0 quarterfinal win and secured its place in the Asian Games semifinals.

The three matches followed a similar pattern: China was challenged at key moments but remained composed when the matches entered their decisive stages.

Wang Zhiyi recovered from losing the opening game, Chen Yufei responded after being pushed into a decider, while Liu and Tan provided China with a quick straight-game victory in the doubles.

The result gives the Chinese women's team a positive start to its campaign in Nagoya.

China will face the winner of theChinese Taipei-Indonesia quarterfinalin the semifinals. South Korea also advanced to the last four after defeating Malaysia 3-1 in another quarterfinal.

The Chinese women's team entered the Asian Games with high expectations. At the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, China finished with the silver medal, and the team has since continued to develop its lineup and strengthen its depth.

Ahead of the competition, Wang Zhiyi said that winning the women's team title was a shared objective for the squad. The players also emphasized the importance of staying united and focusing on their individual matches.

The 3-0 victory over Thailand gives China an encouraging start, but the challenge will become tougher in the semifinals.

With only four teams remaining, every match will carry greater pressure. China's singles strength and depth in doubles will once again be important as the team continues its pursuit of the Asian Games women's team title.

For now, China has taken the first step.

The semifinal will provide a much stronger test — and another opportunity for the Chinese women's badminton team to move closer to the gold medal.