Michelle Li from Toronto, Ontario, reached the women’s semifinals of the German Open 2024 in Mulheim last weekend. As an unseeded player, Li reached the podium for the first time in two years, according to Ben Steiner of the World Championship Canadian Olympic Committee.
In the first round, Li defeated fellow Canadian Wen Yu Zhang of Richmond, British Columbia, 21-18, 21-11. Li then beat 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 sixth seed Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark. 21-13, 18-21, 21-10. Blichfeldt, the sixth seed, won the tournament by defeating 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 victory over Cochuwong was significant. That’s because Cochuwong has won two Badminton World Federation World Tour events in the past. She won the Spain Masters 2020 and the Swiss Open 2023.
Li has won three BWF World Tour events. She won the 2018 and 2019 Macau Open and the 2022 Canada Open at the Markin MacPhail Center in Calgary, Alberta. Li’s semi-final spot in Germany will give her confidence as she prepares 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
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