Wakana Nagahara and Mayu Matsumoto took another step toward reclaiming the women's doubles crown at the BWF World Championships, beating South Korea's Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan 21-13, 19-21, 21-12 in Friday's quarterfinals.
The Japanese sixth seeds took 60 minutes to dispatch their third-seeded opponents at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium and book a semifinal rematch with China's reigning world champions and top seeds Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan.
The pair known to fans by the nickname "Nagamatsu" will carry Japan's hopes in the women's doubles after fifth-seeded compatriots Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida lost 21-16, 21-15 to South Korean fourth seeds Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong in their quarterfinal.
Nagahara and Matsumoto, the 2021 All England Open champions, won back-to-back world titles in 2018 and 2019 but had to settle for bronze following their semifinal loss to Chen and Jia last year in Huelva, Spain.
With losing semifinalists receiving bronze medals, Nagahara and Matsumoto are guaranteed their fourth straight world championship podium finish.
In men's doubles, Japanese second seeds and defending world champions Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi suffered a 24-22, 15-21, 21-14 quarterfinal loss to seventh seeded Indian pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.