TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — World badminton No. 4 Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) defeated reigning world champion Yamaguchi Akane in two sets Saturday (July 22) to win herself a spot in the finals of the Korea Open.

The July 18-23 competition in Yeosu is ranked as one of seven Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Super 500 events. On Sunday (July 23), Tai will face local favorite An Se-young, who defeated China’s Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Chen Yufei (陳雨菲).

This year’s contest is the second time Tai has made it to the semifinals at the Korea Open, the Liberty Times reported. Looking back at her games against Yamaguchi, Tai won 11 out of 23 confrontations with the Japanese champion.

During Saturday’s first set, both shuttlers exchanged leads several times, with Tai at one point 12-16 behind before launching an offensive which took her to 21-17. The second set started with the Taiwanese former world No. 1 player 2-4 behind.

She managed to wrestle the lead away to 14-9 before Yamaguchi got level at 16-16. In the end, Tai managed a 21-19 victory, confirming her place in the final against An.

Of the eight times the two shuttlers faced each other, Tai has defeated the South Korean only twice, the Liberty Times reported.