Taipei, Aug. 24 (CNA) Former world-ranked badminton player Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) has withdrawn from the 2024 Japan Open after sustaining an injury to her left knee during her quarterfinal victory on Friday.
Tai entered the Super 750 event in Yokohama with persistent knee problems and was leading 15-5 in the first game against Japan’s Natsuki Nidaira when she overextended her left knee in an unsuccessful attempt to parry a shot at the net.
The 30-year-old grimaced in pain and sat on the sidelines after requesting an injury timeout so that medical staff could treat her knee with ice spray.
Tai, the top seed at the event in Japan, later returned to the match and managed to overcome the setback, securing a place in the semifinals by beating the Japanese badminton player 21-13, 21-14 in 43 minutes.
Later on Friday, however, Tai decided to withdraw from the tournament. Her withdrawal was officially announced on Saturday by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the tournament organizer.
“I’m surprised I even made it to the semifinals. Now I’m just trying my best to go as far as possible. I’ll see a doctor after I return to Taiwan and hope it’s not too serious,” Tai told CNA.
Tai is currently ranked 18th in the BWF World Tour rankings, where only the top eight players can qualify for the BWF World Tour Finals in December.
The Japan Open was Tai’s first tournament since she was eliminated by Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand at the Paris Olympics on July 31. It is also the fourth event in 2024 that the Taiwanese badminton star has withdrawn from after failing to finish her last three tournaments before the Olympics.
Before Paris 2024, Tai last appeared in Taiwan’s first match in the final of the BWF Thomas & Uber Cup against Malaysia on April 28, where she defeated Goh Jin-wei (吳堇溦) 21-19, 22-20 in 33 minutes.
Tai subsequently withdrew from the team competition and decided not to take part in the Singapore Open, which began on May 28, and the Indonesia Open in early June.
Following her straight-sets loss to Intanon in the group stage in Paris, Tai revealed the severity of her injury on social media, admitting that just stepping on the court exceeded her expectations of herself.
Despite her withdrawal, Tai’s place in the semifinals is expected to improve her position to No. 3 in the world rankings, especially given the absence of the top three players – An Se-young of South Korea, Chen Yufei (陳雨菲) of China and Carolina Marin of Spain.
An is currently embroiled in a conflict with the Korean Badminton Association, with whom she publicly clashed after winning gold in Paris and revealed years of unfair treatment.
Chen has announced an indefinite break after her elimination in the Olympic quarter-finals. A return date has not yet been set for the 31-year-old Spaniard after she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee in the semi-finals in Paris. This injury could force her to end her career sooner than expected.
