Nanjing
Tai Tzu-ying was on the end of a shock defeat at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships on Friday (Aug 3), the number one from Taiwan going out in the quarter-finals to China’s He Bingjiao.
It was just Tai’s second defeat in 35 matches, a run which brought five titles and cemented her status as the woman to beat in Nanjing.
But the 24-year-old was sloppy at times, making a series of unforced errors, particularly at the net, and going down to the sixth seed over three unpredictable games.
China’s He emerged after just under an hour to win 21-18, 7-21, 21-13 in a thrilling contest.
She will play former world number one Saina Nehwal of India or Spain’s reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin in the semis.
