China's mixed doubles badminton pair, Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong, claimed a commanding victory over Japan's Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino on Thursday, winning 21-14, 21-15.

Zheng Siwei (L)/Huang Yaqiong of China compete during the badminton mixed doubles semifinal match against Watanabe Yuta/Higashino Arisa of Japan at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, Aug. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Ren Zhenglai)

The top-seeded duo will compete against South Korea's Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun in the final on Friday, with the first badminton gold medal of the Paris Olympics at stake.

Zheng commented on their performance, noting that strong starts in both sets had allowed them to exert early pressure and control the match.

In the men's singles, Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn staged a comeback, overcoming a set deficit to defeat Japan's Kenta Nishimoto 16-21, 21-14, 21-12 in the round of 16, where another Japanese, No. 5 seed Kodai Naraoka, also suffered an early exit, losing 21-12, 21-16 to Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Chen.

Meanwhile, in an all-Indian men's singles clash, Lakshya Sen triumphed over veteran Prannoy Haseena Sunil Kumar, winning 21-12, 21-6 to secure his place in the quarterfinals.

China's men's doubles team of Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang edged past Indonesia's Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Adianto in a nail-biting encounter, with scores of 24-22, 22-20. Liang and Wang will next face the Malaysian duo of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the semifinals, a team they have previously defeated during the group stage.

In the women's doubles, both Chinese pairs advanced to the semifinals. Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan will compete against Malaysia's Tan Pearly and Thinaah Muralitharan, while Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning are set to face Japan's Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida. These matches are scheduled for Friday and promise to be intense battles as the athletes vie for a place in the finals. 

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