It’s been a great start to the year for Zhang Shu Xian and Zheng Yu.

At DAIHATSU Indonesia Masters 2024 today, the Chinese third seeds defeated Jongkolphan Kititharakul/Rawinda Prajongjai to qualify for their third title match of the nascent season. It was also the world No.6s’ first win over the Thais after four straight defeats dating back to September 2022.

“We used our previous experience of playing this pair to find the right solutions. You can say we learned from those losses,” said Zhang after their 21-12 12-21 21-14 victory. “We tried to overcome the challenges and get the pace and shuttlecock control right.

“We also watched their quarterfinal match (against Li Wen Mei/Liu Xuan Xuan) to pick up on things to prepare for this match.”

Zhang/Zheng are the only players to make the final of all three tournaments in the new HSBC BWF World Tour season. However, they were runners-up at both the Malaysia and India Opens.

Asked if this was the most confident they have felt as a pair after such a strong start, Zheng replied: “Yes. And we will try to become champions this time.”

Zhang/Zheng’s final opponents are young compatriots Liu Sheng Shu/Tan Ning. Their head-to-head stands at 2-2, with Liu/Tan winning their most recent clash in the Malaysia Open final two weeks ago.

→ Results (Semifinals)

→ Order of play (Finals)

WHAT OTHERS SAID:

“We don’t really feel tired. Winning tough matches like this actually makes us more confident.” – Huang Ya Qiong confirming she and Zheng Si Wei are fully fit after falling ill in Malaysia

“This week has been an eye-opener for us. That when we do play well, we can beat some of the top pairs. We learned being brave pays, so we should strive to do that more often. This week has been extremely motivating for us.” – Clara Graversen reflecting on a productive few days in Jakarta

“Most people can agree the first match is always the hardest, because you are trying to adjust to the conditions. So it was a big boost beating a strong player. That gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the tournament.” – Brian Yang, who came from behind to oust Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, on how the win over Li Shi Feng set him on his way