Wang Zhiyi 王祉怡

Wang Zhiyi, oh, Wang Zhiyi, what a pity for not beating An Seyoung when so close to doing so in the WC'21 quarterfinals.

Let me repost what I wrote in the tournament thread:

Wang Zhiyi only got herself to blame for not making the most of her opportunities to stop ASY. In G1, with a hefty lead, she almost screw up letting ASY back into the game, and esp in the decider when ahead most of the time in the latter half, yet at 19-16 up, she failed to close it out.

Yes, WZY is at the same level as ASY but not as steady and consistent, also she tends to play safe shots to avoid mistakes when in the lead instead of piling on the pressure and taking a bit more risk to finish off the game or match. It's to ASY's credit when staring defeat in the face not to panic but soldier on until the very end, and it worked against a not too self-confident or mentally strong WZY.

Let it be a lesson learnt for WZY and hope she emerges stronger in future.

 

https://sports.sina.com.cn/others/badmin/2021-12-16/doc-ikyakumx4464778.shtml
I see, so Wang Zhiyi has been carrying some knee injury , which she admitted has somewhat affected her game during the Uber Cup and the Denmark Open , and has not fully recovered during the world championships.

Next year then, hoping to see WZY starting to realize her full potential asap. May she be off to an auspicious start in 2022.

 

At the just-concluded BAC 2022, Wang Zhiyi almost blew it in the decider. Despite a hefty lead , 16-5, 17-6 against Yamaguchi, I feel WZY could afford to take more risk while avoiding simple mistakes to try and finish it off quickly. Instead she continued to play safe and conservatively most of the time hoping for AY to cave in. But that didn't happen, on the contrary, a determined and late fightback by AY to level the score 19-all could've shocked and demoralized WZY and cast a shadow over her the next time they meet.

Phew, as luck would have it, WZY somehow prevailed ,holding her nerves the last two points when it mattered most to emerge victorious. What a fine line between morale-boosting win and confidence-shattering flop, a fateful outcome that might shape a young career's trajectory for quite some time.

In the end, nothing is more heartening and uplifting than a rousing performance to usher an aspirant on the cusp of a breakthrough in her young career onward to stardom one day. Indeed, beating the most promising young prodigy An Se Young and then the reigning world champion Akane Yamaguchi in succession to win the Asian championship in her maiden attempt is a crowning achievement, and may well set her off to scale greater heights going forward.

Kudos to Wang Zhiyi. Jiayou again and again. May this her first top-tier Super1000 tournament accolade bring her many more successes to come !

 

For Wang Zhiyi, who is still ranked outside the top 10 , hovering at 14 atm (was at 11 at one time, if I'm not wrong), to beat the reigning world champion and WR1 twice in a row is highly commendable, not to mention she also disposed of Marin who's attempting to make a comeback after a long injury layoff in the Indonesian Open S1000 event , though I must concede Marin is nowhere near her previous best yet.

That after Wang Zhiyi has suffered a hard knock losing a crucial tiebreaker match to the lesser known Korean Sim Yu Jin in the recently concluded Uber Cup Final '22 that cost China the team championship, for which I'd expect her to be still struggling to get over the pain, is indeed a most remarkable achievement, a praiseworthy sign of maturity, unyielding spirit and resilience, the more so considering her relative young age of 22 and in the early stage of her international professional career.

I mean, her being able to do so with such a positive mentality and will-to-win so soon after that terrible setback in the fateful Uber Cup Final match loss, a major world team title event no less, it forces me to see her in a new light. I'd venture to say WZY is destined for greater things to come. Mind you, Akane Yamaguchi has proven to be such a tough nut to crack for practically all the top WS players, that for anybody ranked outside the top 10 to beat her twice in a row within a little more than a month, is nothing short of a phenomenal feat.

Great job, Wang Zhiyi ! Way to go !

 

What a stirring victory by Wang Zhiyi over her more established senior He Bingjiao in the semifinals of the INA Open '22 today, veritably a masterful performance.

No doubt, I must mention WZY's familiarity with HBJ's game as they train together on a daily basis facilitated her win as she appeared the better prepared, both mentally and strategically, more or less reading her senior's game well enough to gain a significant advantage. Not only that, WZY is on a roll and brimming with confidence going into the match having scored two prominent victories over Marin and Akane Y the previous two rounds. And I would add , it's a match she can play freely and fearlessly as losing to her own teammates is not such a scary proposition as losing an all-important match to a foreign opponent.

In other words, little is at stake and she could afford to lose, so to speak; hence, a test of mental strength it is not.

Well, tomorrow's final clash with Tai Tzu Ying is an altogether different proposition for sure. I can't wait for it.

Wang Zhiyi, go for it ! Jiayou !

 

Wow, Wang Zhiyi, that was a cracker of a match she played with Akane Yamaguchi in R2 of the Denmark Open S750 event 2022 !!!

WZY literally pushing , stretching, trading blow for blow and matching her opponent point for point all the way from start to finish in a long-drawn, protracted struggle, in what appeared to be a war of attrition but, somewhat to my surprise, neither contestants looked fatigued as I expected AY not to be, but WZY too, to her credit. The match score, 15-21, 22-20 (after WZY saving 4 matchpoints ), and 23-25 (after WZY holding 2 matchpoints) to Akane, with little separating the two.

In the end, it was so near yet so far or a miss is as good as a mile for Wang Zhiyi, despite the fact that she had beaten AY before not long ago, this match is one of the best and hardest-fought I’ve seen in WS for quite some time. In my opinion, it reflects very well of WZY, and if it is any indication, I daresay, WZY has raised her game another level. Plaudits to WZY.

No doubt about it, a match that bodes well for WZY going forward.

Allow me to repost here what I wrote on the tournament thread:-

"Whoa, Wang ZY, on the brink of defeat, saved 4 matchpoints in G2, and then wins the deuces 22-20 to force the decider. That is fighting spirit. Not bad."

"Argh...so near yet so far, WZY held two matchpoints 20-18 and let AY escape, then in the deuce exchanges , ding-dong, ding-dong to finally drop it 23-25 to AY. Such a pity.

Still, it's an extraordinary battle of wills and a remarkably well-fought match."