China's Huang Yaqiong (right) hits a shot next to China's Zheng Siwei in their mixed doubles badminton group stage match against South Korea's Seo Seung-jae and South Korea's Chae Yoo-jung during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Musashino Forest Sports Plaza in Tokyo on July 26, 2021. (ALEXANDER NEMENOV / AFP)

TOKYO - China's mixed doubles badminton pairs Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong and Wang Yilyu/Huang Dongping, who rank world No 1 and No 3 respectively, eased into the Tokyo 2020 badminton quarterfinals here on Monday after three consecutive victories in the group phase.

Zheng and Huang defeated world No 6 pair Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung of South Korea 2-0 at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza.

The top-seeded Chinese pair dominated the first game 21-14. In the second game, after the score seesawed to reach 13-13, Zheng and Huang took the lead to win 21-17.

Over the past three matches of group play, generally speaking I think we have played well. Although we faced difficulties, we figured out ways to resolve them and we held on and pulled through.

Zheng Siwei, Chinese professional badminton player

The Chinese duo had come through a challenging contest on Sunday, defeating the Netherlands' Robin Tabeling and Selena Piek 2-0. Zheng said that they reviewed video footage of that game, noted their mistakes and focused on improving problem areas.

"Over the past three matches of group play, generally speaking I think we have played well. Although we faced difficulties, we figured out ways to resolve them and we held on and pulled through," Zheng said.

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Elsewhere, their compatriots Wang and Huang routed Malaysian pair Chen Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying 21-13, 21-19.

In their two earlier contests, the second-seeded duo triumphed over Germany's Mark Lamsfuss and Isabel Herttrich 24-22, 21-17, and trounced Hong Kong, China shuttlers Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet 21-12, 21-18.

Wang said he was more relaxed in the third match knowing he and Huang had won the first two matches and qualified for the quarterfinals.

"I think we played each game better than the last one. When we encounter setbacks we try to get over them and this is actually helpful to improving our condition on the court," Huang noted.

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However, the Chinese duo are clearly aware of challenges ahead. "When it comes to the quarterfinals, all opponents are very competent, regardless of whether they are No. 1 or No. 2 from each group, and that's because it's the Olympics," Huang said.

The mixed doubles quarterfinals begin on Wednesday, while the mixed doubles gold medal match will be held on Friday.