Chen Yufei of China hits a return during the women's singles second round against Beiwen Zhang of the USA at the Japan Open 2023, July 27, 2023. (Xinhua/Yang Guang)
A bitter-sweet day for China at the badminton Japan Open, as Olympic champion Chen Yufei was knocked out in the second round, while Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong advanced in the mixed double.
TOKYO, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Olympic champion Chen Yufei of China was unexpectedly eliminated by U.S. shuttler Beiwen Zhang 21-17, 24-22 in the women's singles second round at Japan Open 2023 here on Thursday.
It is third-seeded Chen's first loss to the U.S. player in their five encounters so far.
Chen cited slower tactical decisions and her opponent's adaptability as the factors to her failure.
Among the other women's singles matches, China's Han Yue displayed remarkable resilience by mounting a comeback to defeat Singapore's Yeo Jia Min 15-21, 21-14, 21-12, and He Bingjiao secured a convincing 21-12, 21-11 victory over compatriot Wang Zhiyi.
However, Zhang Yiman lost 21-10, 21-10 to fourth-seeded Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei. Han and He are set to face Tai and Beiwen Zhang respectively in the quarterfinals.
In the men's singles round of 16, China's Shi Yuqi demonstrated his prowess by clinching a 21-14, 21-17 victory over Lee Cheuk Yiu from Hong Kong, China. Shi now sets his sights on a semifinal clash against Japan's Kodai Naraoka.
"It was not an easy victory. A meticulous approach was needed at each point as I certainly felt the pressure from my opponent's relentless style of play," Shi told Xinhua after the match.
China's Weng Hongyang failed to advance, losing 21-15, 21-14 to fifth-seeded Jonathan Christie of Indonesia.
Liu Yuchen(L)/Ou Xuanyi of China compete during the men's doubles second round match against Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin of Malaysia at the Japan Open Badminton Championships 2023 in Tokyo, Japan, July 27, 2023. (Xinhua/Yang Guang)
In the men's doubles, China's duo Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang lost 21-16, 23-21 to Akira Koga/Taichi Saito of Japan, and Ren Xiangyu/Tan Qiang lost 21-11, 23-21 to Japan's Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi.
However, Ou Xuanyi/Liu Yuchen won 21-14, 21-17 over Malaysia's Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin and advanced to the quarterfinals, where they will face Japan's Koga and Saito.
In the women's doubles, top-seeded Chinese duo Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan continued their dominant form with a comfortable 21-15, 21-13 win against Malaysia's Chen Kong Le/Tee Tina, extending their undefeated streak against them to five matches. They will play against Japanese duo Nami Matsuyama/Chiharu Shida.
Also on Thursday, mixed doubles No. 1 duo of Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong from China swept Malaysia's Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei 21-11, 21-13. Meanwhile, another Chinese duo Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping overcame Lee Chun Hei/Ng Tsz Yau of Hong Kong, China 21-19, 12-21, 21-17.
However, China's Jiang Zhenbang/Wei Yaxin failed to progress, losing 21-16, 21-13 to South Korea's Seo Seung-jae/Chae Yu-jung.
The Japan Open 2023, which kicked off on Tuesday, will run until Sunday at Tokyo's Yoyogi National Stadium. ■
