Defending champions China will lock horns with five-time champion Japan in the final of the Uber Cup at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in Delhi.
The 12-time champion defeated South Korea in the semifinals to book their 16th straight final berth, while Japan rallied from a 2-0 deficit to end India's dream run in the tournament.
China faced little difficult in overpowering Korea 3-0 in the first semifinals, as their top-player Li Xuerui and Wang Shixian won the first two singles rubber, while the pair of Bao Yixin and Tang Jinhua sealed the tie by winning the first doubles encounter.
London Olympic gold medallist Xuerui put China 1-0 up by winning the first singles against Korea in straight games. The world number one Xuerui outplayed the world number five Sung Ji-hyun 21-11, 21-19 in just 39 minutes.
Chinese team went 2-0 up in the rubber when the doubles pair Bao Yixin and Tang Jinhua registered straight set victory in just 37 minutes over the sixth-seeded Chinese duo Ye Na Jang and So Young Kim 21-11, 21-12.
World number two Wang Shixian faced a stiff competition from Bae Yeon-ju in the second singles, but the Chinese defeated her in three games to seal the tie. After losing the first game, Sung rallied back to level the match, but Shixian won the third game to wrap up the match 21-13, 16-21, 21-10.
In another semifinals clash, Japan defeated India after losing the first two singles to book final meeting with China. Star Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu provided India a winning start by clinching first two singles, but Japan won remaining three matches to move into the final.
India looked firmly in control when the doubles pair Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won the second game to even the tie against Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi. The Indian pair started the decider pretty well, but lost way in the middle and went down against their much higher-ranked opponent.
After clinching the crucial first doubles, Japan were favourites to win the remaining two ties. World number 19 Eriko Hirose overpowered young Indian PC Thulasi in straight sets to level the tie, while the pair of Saina-Sindhu lost the second doubles against Miyuki Maeda and Reika Kakiiwa.
Japan's Miyuki Maeda said it is going to be a tough final and the team needs to step up against China. "Even though the result will be important, we just want to focus on playing well," Maeda said. "We haven't played Zhao Yunlei/Wang Xiaoli as a pair, but Zhao is good at the front and Wang hits hard from the back. Our defensive game will have to be very good."
Where to Watch Live
The match is scheduled for a 3:00 pm IST, 9:30 am GMT start, with live coverage on Star Sports 1 and Sport Sports HD 1 in India. The matches can be watched via live streaming option HERE, and can be live streamed by international viewers HERE .
