Shi Yuqi of China hits a return during the men's singles first round match against Ade Resky Dwicahyo of Azerbaijan at the BWF World Championships 2022 in Tokyo, Japan, Aug. 22, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)
Shi Yuqi, suspended by the Chinese Badminton Association last October for inappropriate remarks, made a triumphant return at the World Championships in Japan.
TOKYO, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- China's Shi Yuqi fought off a tenacious challenge to beat lowly-ranked Ade Resky Dwicahyo of Azerbaijan in his first match in 10 months at the World Championships here on Monday.
Shi, who finished second at the 2018 worlds, looked rusty from the start, trailing the former Indonesian player 14-9 in the first set. He managed to level the score at 15-15 and took the set 22-20.
The 28-year-old found his pace in the second set, winning 21-10 to set up a second-round showdown against 11th seed Rasmus Gemke of Finland, who defeated compatriot Kalle Koljonen 21-10, 21-8.
Shi Yuqi hits a return during the match. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)
"I was a bit nervous soon after standing on the court," said Shi, who was suspended last October by the Chinese Badminton Association for making "inappropriate remarks" about the withdrawal from the Thomas Cup semifinal against Japan's Kento Momota.
"It's a long time since I played a match last time, so when my opponent played well and I made some mistakes, it was easy to be left behind," Shi said.
When asked what score he would give himself on the performance, Shi said, "It should be very low if it was played last year, but considering it was my first match after a long absence, I would rate myself six out of 10."
Denmark's Viktor Axelsen hits a return during the men's singles final against Japan's Kento Momota at Malaysia Open 2022 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 3, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)
Top seed and Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, who beat Shi in the semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics last year, also advanced with a victory over Liew Daren of Malaysia 21-16, 21-12. He will next take on Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands.
Axelsen, the 2017 world champion, said he was satisfied with his victory.
"I had expected a tough match," he said. "I made very careful preparation for this championships. I really look forward to winning again but I want to focus on the next match and don't want to look too far."
