Ong is just one step away from defending her title at the 2025 Malaysia Badminton Super 500 and loves to play in Malaysia

Chinese badminton women's singles player Wang Zhiyi, who is looking to defend her title, loves Malaysia and has received strong support from Malaysian fans at the Yatong Stadium, which has become her motivation to play, and one of the reasons why she has reached the final here for the third time in a row. Wang Zhiyi won the women's singles quarterfinals of the 2025 Malaysia Badminton Super 500 Tournament 21-17, 21-16 on the 24th, ending a six-game losing streak against Intanon and changing the head-to-head record to 2-6.

Wang Zhiyi admits that she likes Malaysia very much, and she has received strong support from Malaysian fans to play here, which has given her motivation

Reached the finals in Malaysia for the third time in a row. Won last year's Malaysia Super 500 at the Atsu Stadium, Ong was runner-up in the final of the Malaysia Super 1000 earlier this year, and will be looking to defend her title tomorrow against team-mate second-seeded Han Yue. She said that she has always loved Malaysia, and the fans here often cheer her on, which has become her motivation for the competition.

When asked if there was a special reason for reaching the finals for 3 consecutive times, Wang Zhiyi said no, but she admitted frankly that she may have adapted to the wind direction in the field at that time, which made her play better. "This is the third time this year that I have reached the final, and it is natural to want to win the first championship, but the most important thing is to prepare well, especially for my teammate Han Yue in the final to compete for the championship."

Hoping that the final will be a wonderful match for Malaysian fans, so far, in the 10 meetings with Han Yue, Wang Zhiyi has a 7-3 advantage. When asked if it will be more difficult for her teammates to fight in the finals tomorrow, Wang Zhiyi said that competing for the championship with her teammates will be different, and as a player, you just need to keep overcoming. "I hope tomorrow's final will be a great match for the Malaysian fans."

Intanon had no time to recover due to the fierce battle in the top 8, and lost to Wang Zhiyi in 2 games in the semifinals on the 24th and missed the final

Intanon admits that he has not had time to recover. And the 30-year-old Intanon was physically exhausted and had no time to recover after narrowly defeating Canada's Li Wenshan in the top 8 of the women's singles in 3 games on the 23rd, so it was difficult to fight against the 25-year-old Wang Zhiyi in today's semifinals. Intanon said that she is no longer young and has no time to recover her physical strength, although she wants to win, she knows that it is difficult and has many mistakes in attack, so she just plays against Wang Zhiyi with the mentality of enjoying the game.

You have to build up your strength against the young players. Despite the defeat, Intanon was pleased with her performance in the Malaysian Super 500 and reached the semi-finals of the Malaysian Super 1000 earlier this year. She said that if she is going to play against young players in the next game, she will have to improve her strength and recovery.