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Monday, May 20, 2019, 16:28
China crushes Malaysia 5-0 in their opener at Sudirman Cup
By Xinhua
Monday, May 20, 2019, 16:28 By Xinhua

Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen (left) of China compete during the men's doubles match between China and Malaysia in the group stage at Sudirman Cup 2019 in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on May 19, 2019. (LIU XU / XINHUA)

NANNING - Hot favourite China swept Malaysia 5-0 to start its Sudirman Cup campaign here on Sunday evening.

In the opening match, third-ranked Chinese Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen rallied from one set down to beat 14th-ranked Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the men's doubles 18-21, 21-14 and 24-22 in one hour.

"Malaysia's men's doubles are the young dark horse, they placed second in the All England Open. So we had full preparation," China's head coach Zhang Jun said. "We held up ourselvese firmly despite lagging behind, and we made adjustment at the right moments to take the third and decisive set."

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And Chen Yufei, the All England Open winner, also conceded one set before overcoming Cheah Solina 21-15, 21-23 and 21-14 in the women's singles, helping China enjoy a comfortable 2-0 lead in their Group 1D which also includes India.

"Both my opponent and I had nice performance and the match was quite intense actually," said the No. 3 Chen, "but I had full preparation for it."

The men's singles turned out to be a lopsided match as world No. 2 Shi Yuqi downed Lee Ziijia 21-12, 21-11 in 35 minutes to seal the win for China, before debutant Du Yue who paired with Li Yinhui, beat Vivian Hoo and Yap Cheng Wen 21-18, 21-14 in the women's doubles.

Top-ranked Huang Yaqiong and Zheng Siwei completed the rout by winning the mixed doubles 21-16, 21-12 over Lai Pei Jing and Tan Kian Meng, including a 55-shot rally in their second game to help the winning pair lead 14-6 for good.

After one-day rest, China will take on its second and last group rival India on Tuesday, while India meets Malaysia on Monday, to decide the top two sides advancing to the quarterfinals from the group.

Soh Wooi Yik (right)/Aaron Chia of Malaysia compete during the men's doubles match between China and Malaysia in the group stage at Sudirman Cup 2019 in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on May 19, 2019. (LIU XU / XINHUA)

The Sudirman Cup 2019 kicked off on Sunday, featuring 31 countries and regions in the biennial world mixed team championship which will run till May 26.

Chinese Taipei beats Hong Kong for its opening win

Chinese Taipei took the first three matches for an unbeatable lead, defeating Hong Kong 3-2 in the Group 1C opener at the Sudirman Cup which kicked off here on Sunday.

It was a tough start, but I played really patiently. Later on, Ng Ka made more mistakes and I took the advantage to win

Chou Tien Chen

Men's doubles shuttlers Liao Min Chun/Su Ching Heng, the winners of Dutch Open 2017, beat Chung Yonny and Tam Chun Hei 21-14, 21-17, and Asian Games champion Tai Tzu Ying survived a big scare to surrender the first game 18-21, but managed to beat Cheung Ngan Yi by taking the following games 21-19, 21-8.

Chinese Taipei locked its victory as Chou Tien Chen, runner-up of the Asian Games 2018, scored an identical score of 21-15 over Ng Ka Long Angus in the men's singles after 41 minutes.

"It was a tough start, but I played really patiently. Later on, Ng Ka made more mistakes and I took the advantage to win," said Chou.

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With the victory in their hands, Chinese Taipei conceded the following women's doubles and the mixed doubles as Ng Wing Yung/Yeung Nga Ting took an easy win over Pai Yu Po/Wu Ti Jung 21-14, 21-11, and Tang Chun Man/Tse Ying Suet downed their Chinese Taipei opponents Chang Ching Hui and Wang Chi Lin 17-21, 21-16 and 21-14.

Pitted in the same group, South Korea will meet Hong Kong on Monday and Chinese Taipei on Wednesday. Only top two teams will advance to the quarterfinal from the group.

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