China ruthless in marching to Uber Cup semis
Defending Uber Cup champions China were ruthless in sweeping aside a young Indonesian women’s team 3-0 in their quarter-final clash in Bangkok yesterday.
Reigning Olympic champion Chen Yufei beat Komang Ayu Cahya Dewi 21-12, 21-11 in the first singles match while Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan accounted for Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Amalia Cahaya Pratiwi 21-19, 21-16.
World No 333 Bilqis Prasista showed her group win over Japan’s world number one Akane Yamaguchi was no flash in the pan by taking the first game off He Bingjiao 21-19 in the second match. She stayed strong in the second before losing 21-18.
He then used her experience to cruise through the decider against the 19-year-old 21-7.
Yamaguchi was back to form with a 21-10, 19-21, 21-19 win over Taiwan’s world No 2 Tai Tzu-ying to kick-start Japan to a 3-0 quarter-final victory.
Thailand sweep aside India 3-0 while South Korea also posted a 3-0 scoreline against Denmark.
The first men’s quarter-final match-up was a marathon with Japan’s Kento Nishimoto winning the decider over Taiwan’s Liao Jhuo-fu 21-13, 21-11 to steer the Japanese to a 3-2 victory.
Japan’s number one Kento Momota had earlier won his clash with Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-13 but the Taiwanese team rallied to take the tie the distance.
Like the women, the China men’s team were to take on Indonesia in their quarter-final.
The other men’s quarter-finals featured South Korea against Denmark while India were up against Malaysia.
In their final group encounter, China fell to Denmark in an epic six-hour battle.
World No 21 Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus revelled in his role as a fifth-match specialist once again, taking Denmark past China to top Group B. It was only the third victory ever for Denmark over China in a team event.
The Danes had to claw their way back from 1-2 down after losing the first doubles and second singles. Scratch pair Anders Skaarup Rasmussen and Frederik Sogaard got them level, and Vittinghus once again stepped up, taking on Korea Open champion Weng Hongyang.
Weng found few opportunities to unleash his fearsome smashes, and Vittinghus nailed the tie with a 16-21, 21-19, 21-18 result.
“I wasn’t feeling too tired, the adrenaline was pumping,” Vittinghus said.
“I’m not sure how many Thomas Cup matches I have left in me, so I really wanted to enjoy this one. For us, it was really a symbolic win.”