Badminton

China, Korea reach Sudirman Cup semis after hard-fought wins

KUALA LUMPUR: Defending champions China stayed on track for a 12th Sudirman Cup title but not before being taken the distance in the quarter-finals against Denmark.

It was Olympic mixed doubles gold medallists Wang Yilyu-Huang Dongping who had to rise to the challenge and deliver the winning point as China triumphed 3-2 at the Energia Areena in Vantaa, Finland on Friday.

With the scores tied at 2-2, the world No 2 provided a convincing anchor performance as they outplayed world No 16 Mathias Christiansen-Alexandra Boje 21-18, 21-12 in 43 minutes.

"We were a bit nervous in the first game but we made some adjustments to get into our rhythm," said Wang Yilyu.

"The pressure was definitely higher on us but it's a part of the competition, and we just had to turn pressure into motivation.

"It is, however, not time to relax yet as the competition is still ongoing and this is just the first step."

Earlier, the Danes had taken the lead through men's pair Anders Skaarup Rasmussen-Frederik Sogaard who downed He Jiting-Zhou Haodong 17-21, 21-16, 21-19.

World No 2 and reigning Olympic gold medallist Chen Yufei however levelled for China by beating Mia Blichfeldt 18-21, 21-18, 21-17 in the women's singles match.

Denmark then went 2-1 up when Viktor Axelsen, the Olympic gold medallist, defeated Shi Yuqi 21-17, 21-14 in the men's singles.

Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan, however, crushed Maiken Fruergaard-Sara Thygesen 21-10, 21-13 in the women's doubles to set up the mixed doubles showdown.

China will face four-time winners South Korea in the semi-finals on Saturday.

The Koreans also earned a hard-fought 3-2 win over Thailand with the points coming from Heo Kwang Hee (men's singles), An Seyoung (women's singles) and Lee Sohee-Shin Seung Chan (women's doubles).

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