Mlheim an der Ruhr: Taiwanese badminton players Lin Xiao-min and Wang Yu-qiao defeated their Chinese counterparts to advance to the women's doubles semifinals at the German Open in Mlheim an der Ruhr on Friday. Teaming up for the first time this year, it took Lin, aged 28, and Wang, aged 24, 41 minutes to beat Keng Shuliang and Li Huazhou 21-16, 21-19 in a quarterfinal match at the Westenergie Sporthalle arena.

According to Focus Taiwan, the two Taiwanese shuttlers, currently ranked 68th in the Badminton World Federation rankings, have not lost a game since the tournament began earlier this week. Despite trailing early in the opening game on Friday, Lin and Wang quickly caught up and clinched several consecutive points to seize the lead in the match. Down 9-7 in the second game, they rebounded with eight consecutive points to lead 15-9 before closing out the match 21-19, staving off a rally by their opponents.

Lin and Wang will next face the world No. 63-ranked Japanese pair Mizuki Otake and Miyu Takahashi in the semifinals at 1 a.m. on Sunday (Taiwan time). They are currently the only Taiwanese players that have made it to the semifinals in Germany, as Chen Cheng-kuan and Lin Bing-wei were ousted in the men's doubles quarterfinals. The German Open, which is being held until Sunday, is a Super 300 event and the fifth tournament of the 2025 BWF World Tour.