NEW DELHI – Chinese player Li Shifeng lost a hard-fought three-game match against Japan's Kodai Naraoka in round of 16 of the men's singles event at the badminton World Championships on Thursday.
Li squandered a one-game advantage to go down 13-21, 23-21, 21-11. Defending champion Shi Yuqi and Weng Hongyang were both eliminated in earlier rounds.
In women's singles, third-seeded Wang Zhiyi of China fought her way into the quarterfinals, overcoming ninth-seeded Pusarla V. Sindhu 21-11, 15-21, 21-17 in an 88-minute thriller.
Her compatriot Han Yue also advanced after a hard-earned three-game victory by beating South Korea's Kim Ga-eun 21-19, 20-22, 21-14. Former Olympic champion Chen Yufei exited, beaten by Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong 15-21, 25-23, 21-17.
In men's doubles, Chinese pair Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang survived a three-game thriller against Denmark's Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, prevailing 22-20, 8-21, 21-19.
In women's doubles, top seeds Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning eased past Bulgarian sisters Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva 21-16, 21-18. Fourth-seeded Jia Yifan/Zhang Shuxian and Li Yijing/Luo Xumin also sealed quarterfinal spots.
READ MORE: Top seed Shi suffers shocking first-round exit at badminton World Championships
China's mixed pairs kept their strong momentum going. Top seeds Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping defeated Japan's Yuta Watanabe and Mayu Taguchi 21-19, 21-18, while fellow duos Jiang Zhenbang/Wei Yaxin, Cheng Xing/Zhang Chi and Guo Xinwa/Chen Fanghui also booked their quarterfinal berths.
