Badminton: China rolls through Spain, clinches quarter- final spot
China stormed into the Uber Cup quarter-finals with victory over Spain on Tuesday.
KUNSHAN (AFP) - Wang Shixian and the Chinese women s team steamrolled through Spain on Tuesday night at the Uber Cup in China, dispatching the top ranked player and securing a quarter-final berth to boot.
Spain struggled out of the gate with the tournament favourites, with world number number one Carolina Marin falling in a three-game tussle against sixth ranked Wang Shixian.
Marin managed to keep Wang just at arm s reach in the first set before ultimately falling in the next two games in an air tight 19-21, 21-18, 21-19 loss that clocked in at nearly 90 minutes.
Following Marin s loss, the Chinese pummelled the Spaniards, with Sun Yu and world number four Wang Yihan recording straight set wins in a half-hour to help complete the 5-0 rout.
In afternoon play, Lee Chong Wei s Malaysian squad survived a nail-biting showdown with Asian rivals South Korea in the Thomas Cup.
The world number three led the charge as Malaysia edged out South Korea 3-2 at the world team championship in Kunshan to finish as the top seed from their grouping ahead of the quarter-finals later this week.
The day did not start off promisingly for the Koreans with world number three Lee pushing past ninth ranked Son Wan-Ho in straight sets.
The Koreans were able to rally with doubles squads Lee Yong Dae and Yoo Yeon Seong, and Kim Gi-jung and Kim Sa-rang, prevailing in back-to-back wins.
But the Malaysians depth on the singles front won the day with Chong Wei Feng besting South Korea s Jeon Hyeok-jin 21-16, 21-16.
"I m glad because it s been a while since I ve played this well, I m really satisfied," said Chong Wei Feng following the match in comments posted by the Badminton World Federation.
"The important thing is we ve now qualified for the quarter-finals as group winners. However, the mission is far from over."
The five-time Thomas Cup champs are aiming to break their 24-year drought at the tournament.
In earlier Uber action, the Malaysian women s squad failed to stir a similar resurgence against Denmark, allowing the Danes to clinch a spot in the quarters after the closely contested 3-2 battle.
In the deciding singles match of the tie, Anne Thea Madsen sent the Malaysians crashing out of the tournament with a 22-24, 21-13, 21-13 win over Ho Yen Mei.
"I was quite fresh despite losing the first game," said Madsen, according to BWF. "I could see she was a bit tired."
Both competitions feature 16 teams divided into four groups, with the top two in each qualifying for the quarter-finals.
