Taiwanese badminton doubles teams advance to Hylo Open finals

Taipei, Nov. 2 (CNA) Taiwan's men's and women's badminton pairs reached the doubles finals in their respective competitions at the 2025 Hylo Open in Germany on Saturday.

Two-time Olympic badminton men's doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤) reached the finals of the men's doubles after a Taiwan-vs-Taiwan match with fellow compatriots Lee Jhe-huei (李哲輝) and Yang Po-hsuan (楊博軒).

Meanwhile, the Taiwanese duo of Hsu Yin-hui (許尹鏸) and Lin Jhih-yun (林芝昀) got into the women's doubles when they defeated Bengisu Ercetin and Nazlican Inci from Turkey.

In the so-called Taiwanese "civil war," Wang and Chiu secured their win over Lee and Yang 21-17, 16-21, 24-22.

The pair led by the Olympic champ had the upper hand early in the first game, retaining a level of control that left their fellow compatriots trailing behind consistently with at least three points throughout the majority of the game.

The difference between the two Taiwanese teams was most drastic after the middle of the first game when Wang and Chiu widened the gap to five points 15-10.

Lee and Yang then seemed to find a new persona, as the duo made a dramatic comeback to close in on Wang and Chiu by winning four straight points to push the game to 15-14.

Not to be outdone, Wang and Chiu then returned the offensive by winning five straight points to bring the game to 19-14 before winning it 21-17.

Wang and Chiu were unable to maintain their momentum, however, in the second game as both teams went toe-to-toe in scoring throughout, before Lee and Yang broke the 15-15 tie and soared past their opponents to win 21-16.

The Taiwan teams continued to give audience members a roller coaster experience in the final match as Wang and Chiu widened the score differences and Lee and Yang narrowed the gaps.

The game was very close as both teams reached multiple match points but Wang and Chiu were able to capitalize on the momentum when they led the game 23-22 before winning it 24-22.

Following the win, the world No. 21 Taiwanese pair of Wang and Chiu will face world No. 11 shuttlers Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani of Indonesia on Sunday to attempt to earn their first victory at a Super 500 or higher event this year.

Prior to Wang and Chiu's Sunday match, Taiwanese female shuttlers Hsu Yin-hui and Lin Jhih-yun will first play against France's Margot Lambert and Camille Pognante for the gold.

Unlike the Taiwanese men who played a full three-game match, Hsu and Lin defeated their Turkish opponents in two games.

Both teams were on equal footing during the first game with multiple game points between them before the Taiwan duo broke the final tie to win the game 28-26.

Hsu and Lin then continued their momentum to breeze past Ercetin and Inci in the second game 21-15.