WUHAN, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese doubles shuttlers Li Junhui and Liu Yucheng were close to defending their Asia Championships title when they overcame compatriots Huang Kaixiang and Wang Yilyu 21-17, 14-21, 21-10 in the semifinals here on Saturday.
"We have been trying to find our form since we came to Wuhan. The matches of last few days were not good for us, although we won. Today we felt better," Li said.
"We had a couple of injuries before the Asia Championships, including wrist and knee, which had affected our training a lot. Now, we have to try to get the best of us and prepare for the Thomas Cup."
The top seeds will encounter with Japanese pair Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda in the men's final, as the latter went through a close fight against another home duo Zhang Nan and Liu Cheng 14-21, 21-12, 25-23.
The 2016 Olympic Champion Zhang and his partner wasted a match point in the back-and-fourth decider when led by 20-19, and their Japanese rivals pulled it back after winning two points in a row and eventually wrapped up the victory at their fourth match point.
"We served badly at the key points in the third game, our opponents gave us great pressure when returning the service. Liu Cheng and I didn't work well together today, and we still need to improve our speed on the court," Zhang said.
