Archive · 23 Aug 2026
Yamaguchi, An Se-young Set Up World Championship Finals
Akane Yamaguchi won her semifinal match at the badminton world championships.
She beat Pornpawee Chochuwong in two games.
This was Yamaguchi’s fourth trip to the world championship final.
Her opponent will be An Se-young, who beat Wang Zhiyi.
An is the top-ranked player and the reigning Olympic champion.
An said the long rallies made her and Wang very tired.
In the men’s event, Alex Lanier of France reached his first world championship final.
He came back after losing the first game to Victor Lai.
Lanier will play Kodai Naraoka of Japan for the men’s title.
Defending champion Akane Yamaguchi defeated Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-12, 21-17 in New Delhi.
Yamaguchi reached her fourth world championship final and will face top-ranked An Se-young.
An defeated China’s Wang Zhiyi 24-22, 21-16 in a 61-minute semifinal.
France’s Alex Lanier overcame Canada’s Victor Lai 16-21, 21-13, 21-14 to reach his first world championship final.
Lanier will meet Japan’s Kodai Naraoka, who defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chien in the other semifinal.
- Who
- Akane Yamaguchi, An Se-young, Alex Lanier, Kodai Naraoka and their semifinal opponents.
- What
- Yamaguchi and An reached the women’s singles final, while Lanier and Naraoka reached the men’s singles final.
- When
- Saturday, August 22, 2026.
- Where
- Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, India.
- Why
- They advanced by winning their respective semifinal matches.
- Women’s semifinal
- Akane Yamaguchi defeated Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-12, 21-17.
- Women’s final
- Yamaguchi will face top-ranked An Se-young.
- An’s semifinal
- An defeated Wang Zhiyi 24-22, 21-16 in 61 minutes.
- Men’s semifinal
- Alex Lanier defeated Victor Lai 16-21, 21-13, 21-14 in 85 minutes.
- Men’s final
- Lanier will face Japan’s Kodai Naraoka.
- Naraoka’s semifinal
- Naraoka defeated Chou Tien-chien 17-21, 21-11, 21-10.
- French milestone
- Lanier became the first Frenchman to secure a world championship medal and reached his first world championship final.
