Kunshan: Badminton powerhouse China has recorded a comprehensive 5-0 win over France in the group stage of the Thomas Cup finals, in Kunshan, Jiangsu-China on Monday.
World number one Chen Long opened the score 1-0 to lift his team’s sweep with a commanding 21-9, 21-12 win against Thomas Rouxel.
Fu Haifeng/Zhang Nan then saw off Ronan Labar/Gaetan Mittelheisser 21-16, 22-20 to secure a comfortable 2-0 lead for China.
However, badminton star Lin struggled to find his rhythm during his first match of the tournament, losing the first game to France’s Lucas Corvee, before bouncing back to win the match 20-22, 21-14, 21-8.
China’s second men’s doubles pair Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen beat Bastian Kersaudy and Julien Mai for a 4-0 advantage before Tian Houwei concluded the tie by outlasting Lucas Corvee 21-17, 21-12.
In another Group A tie, after beating France with 5-0 on Sunday, defending champion Japan defeated Mexico 5-0 for its second successive victory in Thomas Cup badminton.
Both China and Japan will play each other on Wednesday to decide who tops the group.
