China secures berths for Thomas & Uber Cup finals

Photo: Cui Meng/GT

The Chinese badminton team bounced back from scares on Saturday at the Thomas and Uber Cup semifinals, with both the men's team and women's team qualifying for the final respectively in the event held in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Both scares came in the doubles competitions. 

The men's doubles world No.1 Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang were stunned by Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik 21-15, 12-21, 17-21. 

Wang credited his opponents' quality performance though he suffered the defeat. 

"I think the defeat lies to the determination to win crucial points. They were very decisive in their shots, whereas we were a bit hesitant," Wang told reporters. 

The women's world No.1 Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan had to take 1 hour and 25 minutes to come from behind to defeat their Japanese counterparts Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida by 14-21, 21-13, 23-21.

"I think what helped us win the game was our unwavering determination," Jia told the Global Times after the pairs survived two match points. "We kept trying to find ways and kept working hard to turn the situation around."

"The two of us are actually like one person," Chen, who burst into tears after the match, told reporters. "With such great pressure, there are only the two of us facing it on the court, and no one else can help us."

The singles matches seemed relatively easy for Chinese singles players, as they won the matches in straight sets. 

"I've maintained a disciplined attitude during matches, but unexpectedly, my opponent's unforced errors were more frequent," China's singles No.1 Shi Yuqi told reporters of his win over Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia. "His recent form is excellent thus the threat is significant, so I must prepare thoroughly and give my all."

The victory of the Chinese women's team was also heralded by singles world No.2 Chen Yufei, who started the semifinals with a 21-18, 21-15 victory over Japan's Aya Ohori in 46 minutes. 

"I hope everyone recovers from their injuries and illnesses soon," Chen said of her old rival Akane Yamaguchi of Japan who skipped Saturday's semifinals due to injury. "In recent years, I haven't been very healthy either, but mindset is crucial. We must learn to coexist with our conditions. Enjoying the joy of winning on the court, I hope to fully enjoy it at the Olympics."

At the Thomas and Uber Cup finals, each tie typically consists of five matches: three singles and two doubles. The matches are usually played as best-of-three games, with each game played to 21 points.

Other results on Saturday are women's singles player He Bingjiao defeating Japan's Nozomi Okuhara 21-8, 21-18 while Li Shifeng seeing off Malaysia's Leong Jun Hao 21-17, 21-10, followed by He Jiting and Ren Xiangyu's victory over Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin of Malaysia in the men's doubles. 

The Chinese teams will take on Indonesia in both the men's Thomas Cup final and women's Uber Cup final on Sunday.