Michelle Li of Toronto, Ontario reached the women’s semifinals of the 2024 German Open in Mulheim this past weekend. As an unseeded player, Li reached the podium for the first time in two years according to Ben Steiner of the Canadian Olympic Committee.
In the first round, Li beat fellow Canadian Wen Yu Zhang of Richmond, British Columbia 21-18, 21-11. Li then upset the fourth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand 21-19, 21-18 in the second round, and Xuefei Qi of France 21-13, 21-11 in the quarterfinals, before losing to the sixth seed Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark. 21-13, 18-21, 21-10. Blichfeldt, the sixth seed, won the tournament, by beating the seventh seed Nguyen Thuy Linh of Vietnam 21-11, 21-9 in the final. Ga-eun Kim of South Korea was the other semifinalist. Li is currently ranked 24th in the world.
Li’s win over Cochuwong was significant. That is because Cochuwong has won two Badminton World Federation World Tour events in the past. She was victorious at the 2020 Spain Masters and the 2023 Swiss Open.
Li has won three BWF World Tour events. She won the 2018 and 2019 Macau Open, and the 2022 Canada Open from the Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary, Alberta. The semifinal spot for Li in Germany will give her confidence as she prepares for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
