Badminton-Defending world champion An loses, Shi marches into final

Aug 30 (Reuters) - World number one An Se-young's world title defence ended in the semi-finals with defeat by Chen Yufei in Paris on Saturday as top-ranked Shi Yuqi saved two match points to reach the men's final.

Unseeded 20-year-old Lai took the first game but Shi fought back to win 13-21 22-20 21-16, leaving the Canadian with a bronze medal, the North American nation's first in the sport.

Shi built a 10-5 lead in the second game only for Lai to level and earn two match points at 20-18, but the Chinese 29-year-old held firm to force a decider.

Shi, runner-up in 2018, will bid for his first world title when he faces men's defending champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn in Sunday's final after the Thai third seed eased past Dane second seed Anders Antonsen 21-17 21-15.

Olympic champion An was on the verge of tears after she lost 21-15 21-17 to fourth seed Chen of China who will meet Japanese fifth seed Akane Yamaguchi in the final after she beat Indonesia's Putri Kusuma Wardani 21-17 14-21 21-6.

"To be honest, I felt like I played stupidly, I was afraid of making mistakes. My preparation for the World Championship was very good. I did my best before the competition... I feel really sad right now," the South Korean said.

"I couldn't find a way to make the rallies, to control the match… if I have to sum up, my clears, my smashes, my timing... everything was bad."

Yamaguchi is bidding for a third world crown and Chen her first, having finished runner-up in 2022.

(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)