Viktor Axelsen is one game away from regaining his Dubai World Supeseries Finals men’s title after smashing Shi Yuqi in straight games at the Hamdan Sports Complex on Saturday.
The Danish World No 1 was ruthless as he avenged his defeat to the Chinese in the group stage with a 21-12, 21-8 demolition in just 41 minutes to reach his third consecutive final in Dubai.
Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei, a three-time Olympic silver, got the better of Son Wan-ho of Korea 21-17, 21-11 in the second men's semi-final later on to set up a showdown against Axelsen.
In contrast to the one-sided opening men’s semi-finals, the preceding women’s semi-final was a thriller.
Akane Yamaguchi won six points in succession as she rallied from 14-18 behind to edge out Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in three games to book her place in the women’s final.
It was an absorbing contest between the Japanese World No 2 and the Thai World No 6 that had the crowd on the edge of their seats throughout the 1 hour, 12 minute match.
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Read more
Upsets for world No 1s Axelsen and Tzu-ying
Opening-day victories for Axelsen and Sindhu
Axelsen expects a 'tough time' defending title
Sindhu hopes to round off season on a high
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Intanon led 16-11 before finishing it off with a deep forehand winner to take the opening game 21-17 in 24 minutes.
However, the former Thai world champion went down meekly in a contrasting second game in which she committed too many unforced errors as Yamaguchi levelled the tie 21-12.
The third game ebbed and flowed with Intanon leading 11-10 at the break. Yamaguchi struggled after the restart, trailing 18-14, before staging a stunning comeback to win six successive points to lead.
Intanon saved a match-point to make it 20-19 before Yamaguchi finally found the winning shot to end 28 engrossing minutes of action.
Next up for Yamaguchi is India's Pusarla Sindhu who booked her passage to the championship match after a hard fought 21-15, 21-18 triumph over China’s Chen Yufei.
The silver medallist at both at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the World Championship in August will meet Yamaguchi in the women’s final.
Sindhu, a silver medalist at both the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and August's World Championship, took the opening game comfortably but had to battle her way through in the next as Yufei staged a strong challenge, clawing back from 15-11 to lead 15-16 at one stage.
However, some unforced errors saw the Chinese teenager fall behind again 19-16 before winning a long rally (57 shots) and another to close in on 19-18.
But nerves got the better of her as she smashed one into the net and sent a back-hand wide to leave the large Indian contingent at Hamdan Sports Complex celebrating another win for Sindhu.
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Men’s singles:
Viktor Axelsen (DEN) bt Shi Yuqi (CHN) 21-12, 21-8; Lee Chong Wei (MAS) bt Son Wan-ho (KOR) 21-17, 21-12.
Women’s singles:
Akane Yamaguchi (JPN) bt Ratchanok Intanon (Tha) 17-21, 21-12, 21-19; Pusarla Sindhu (IND) bt Chen Yufei (CHN) 21-15, 21-18.
Men’s doubles:
Marcus Gideon/Kevin Sukamuljo (INA) bt Takeshi Kamura/Keigo Sonoda (JPN) 21-10, 18-21, 21-16, Liu Cheng/Zhang Nan (CHN) bt Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen (DEN) 21-17, 21-16.
Women’s doubles:
Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota (JPN) bt Huang Yaqiong/Yu Xiaohan (CHN) 21-13, 21-14; Shiho Tanaka/Koharu Yonemoto (JPN) bt Kamilla Juhl/Christinna Pedersen (DEN) 21-19, 21-19.
Mixed doubles:
Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Suet (HK) bt Wang Yilyu/Huang Dongping (CHN) 18-21, 21-18, 21-17; Zheng Siwei/Chen Qingchen (CHN) bt Tontawi Ahmad/Liliyana Natsir (INA) 21-12 21-17.
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
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City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
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D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
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While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The Specs:
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
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- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Fight card
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK) v Rey Nacionales (PHI)
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROM) v Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR)
Catch 74kg
Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) v Omar Hussein (JOR)
Strawweight (Female)
Weronika Zygmunt (POL) v Seo Ye-dam (KOR)
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) v Walid Laidi (ALG)
Lightweight
Leandro Martins (BRA) v Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW)
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) v Sofiane Benchohra (ALG)
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR)
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Glen Ranillo (PHI)
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) v Aidan Aguilera (AUS)
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) Sasha Palatnikov (HKG)
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR)
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
