Gold Coast: Defending champions China met some challenges in the mixed doubles match but controlled the tie throughout to clinch their 2017 Sudirman Cup Opener on Sunday.
Rio Olympic men’s doubles champions Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan nailed the first match in the Group A tie when they pulled off a great escape in the second set, beating Law Cheuk Him and Lee Chun Hei Reginald of Hong Kong 21-16, 26-24 at the Carrara Sport and Leisure Centre in Gold Coast, Australia.
China’s women’s singles player Sun Yu gave her team the second point when she combined her speed and height (183cm) with to see off Fan Ka Yun of Hong Kong 21-12, 21-13.
The men’s singles match proved to be a one-sided contest as two-time Olympic Champion Lin Dan never let his opponent take any control of the match at any point by wrapping up the best-of-five contest with a 21-14, 21-13 victory over Hu Yun.
Although Bao Yixin and Tang Jinhua outlasted Ng Tsz Yau and Yeung Nga Ting 21-11, 21-13 to score the fourth point for China, Hong Kong was able to steal a point from the badminton powerhouse when mixed doubles pair Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet came back from dropping the first set to beat World No. 1 mixed doubles pair Chen Qingchen and Zheng Siwei of China 10-21, 21-16, 21-18.
Meanwhile, South Korea kicked off their Group B tie with a 4-1 win over Russia, while Japan also defeated Germany in Group C with 4-1.
