Pornpawee Chochuwong takes on Denmark’s Kjaersfeldt in HYLO Open semi-final

Thailand’s top-seeded badminton player Pornpawee Chochuwong will face Denmark’s Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt in the women’s singles semi-finals of the HYLO Open 2026 in Saarbrücken, Germany, on Saturday (October 31), with a place in the final at stake.

The match is scheduled to begin at 8pm Thailand time at the Saarlandhalle, with Pornpawee seeking to advance to Sunday's championship match.

The tournament, part of the HSBC BWF World Tour Super 500 series, runs from October 27 to November 1 and offers total prize money of US$500,000.

Pornpawee, the tournament's top seed and world No. 10, will take on eighth seed Kjaersfeldt, who is ranked 25th in the world.

Pornpawee holds advantage in previous meetings

Pornpawee has a strong record against her Danish opponent, although Kjaersfeldt won their most recent encounter at the Swiss Open in March 2025.

Badminton Europe reported that the Swiss Open victory was Kjaersfeldt’s first in seven meetings with Pornpawee, giving the Thai player a 6-1 advantage in their head-to-head record before Saturday's semi-final.

Their most recent meeting took place in the Swiss Open quarter-finals on March 21, 2025, when Kjaersfeldt secured a straight-games victory, winning 21-18, 21-19.

Before that defeat, Pornpawee had beaten the Dane in several major tournaments.

At the China Open on September 19, 2024, Pornpawee won 21-13, 20-22, 21-14 in the round of 16. She had also defeated Kjaersfeldt at the Korea Open on August 29 that year, recovering from a game down to win 17-21, 21-9, 21-17.

Their previous encounter at the Denmark Open on October 18, 2023, was another closely contested match, with Pornpawee prevailing 21-19, 17-21, 24-22 in the opening round.

The Thai player had earlier recorded a straight-games victory at the Malaysia Open on June 26, 2018, winning 21-16, 21-10.

Although the overall record favours Pornpawee, her latest defeat to Kjaersfeldt underlines the challenge she faces in Saturday's encounter. The Danish player's attacking style could prove a significant test as both players compete for a place in the final.

HYLO Open 2026 heads towards final

The tournament began on October 27 with the opening round continuing into October 28, followed by the round of 16 on October 29 and the quarter-finals on October 30.

Saturday's semi-finals will determine the finalists, who will compete for the championship on Sunday (November 1).

Pornpawee enters the contest after defeating Zhang Wenyu in three games, 21-19, 18-21, 21-17, in Friday's quarter-finals.

Kjaersfeldt secured her place in the last four with a straight-games victory over Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour, winning 21-17, 21-13.

Thai badminton fans can follow the tournament on True Sports 7, channel 686, with Pornpawee's semi-final scheduled for 8pm Thailand time.