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BWF Yonex Thailand Open Semifinals: Carolina Marin vs An se Young and Tai Tzu Ying vs Blichfeldt

The women's semifinals are locked in at the BWF YonexThailand Open 2021. Fifth seed, Carolina Marin sets up a mouthwatering clash against seventh seed An Se Young and World number 1, Tai Tzu Ying takes on World number 18, Mia Blichfeldt.

Carolina Marin defeated homegirl, Supanida Katethong 21-16 21-16 in her quarterfinal. She kept her gameplan simple and executed it to perfection. The 2016 Olympics gold medallist had recently slammed the organizers of the tournament for the poor food quality served to the athletes in Bangkok. 

The Spaniard has to opt for a special diet due to a health issue. Coach Fernando Rivas has worked a lot withCarolina  Marin to improve her offensive game by tweaking her attacking strategy. 

An se Young ended fourth seed, Ratchanok Intanon's run with a 22-20 21-12 victory. The World number 9 decided to play her game at a slow pace frustrating Intanon's strategy as he controlled the shuttle effectively. Intanon also noted that the South Korean teenager had improved her speed when they played previously.

Marin leads the head to head record 2-1 against Young.

Prediction - Carolina Marin to win in three games

Tai Tzy Ying comfortably beat Canadian player, Michelle Li 21-11 21-13 in just 28 minutes in the quarters. She improved her head to head record 8-2 against Li. 

When Tai Rzy Ying is going strong, she takes up a couple of points continuously giving no chance for her opponents to make any sort of a comeback in the match. The top seed is the favourite to grab the title and consolidate her spot at the number 1 position in the world rankings.

On the other hand, Blichfeldt ousted Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-13 21-18. It was her second victory in 6 matches against the Thai shuttler. 

The Dane has improved her mental strength a lot by learning from her mistakes made previously. She has also shut down all her social media accounts in her bid to win a medal for her country in this year's Tokyo Olympics.

Tai Tzu Ying leads the head to head record 1-0 against Blichfeldt. 

Prediction - Tai Tzu Ying to win in three games

The Carolina Marin vs An se Young clash will involve some intense shotmaking. If Blichfeldt maintains her strong defence like in the last few matches, she can trouble Tai.

Featured Image Credits - Getty Images 

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