Shi Yuqi of China makes his return in the men's team badminton quarterfinal against Chou Tien-Chen of Chinese Taipei at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 29, 2023. (Xinhua/Ren Zhenglai)
China's shuttlers stay on course to win both men's and women's team titles at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
HANGZHOU, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- China rallied past Chinese Taipei 3-1 to reach the badminton men's team semifinals, while the Chinese women's team also stormed into the last four by beating Indonesia 3-0 at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Friday.
Defending champions China lost the first match as Shi Yuqi, the first choice of men's singles at two consecutive Asiad, went down to Chou Tien-chen 24-22, 21-11.
"I felt a lot of pressure on home court because I could feel that my movements were a bit stiff and distorted. It's not a physical problem, it's mainly due to psychological factors," said Shi.
In the following men's doubles, Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang defeated Tokyo Olympic champions Wang Chi-lin and Lee Yang 21-17, 21-19 to level the score, before youngster Li Shifeng crushed Wang Tzu-wei 21-14, 21-12 to put China 2-1 in front.
"As we play the second match, it was a situation of either 1-0 or 0-1," Wang Chang commented. "So we must keep calm and try to keep ourselves consistent."
Liu Yuchen and Ou Xuanyi secured the victory and a semifinal berth for China after besting Lu Ching-yao and Ye Hong-wei 21-18, 21-19 in 45 minutes.
China will next face Japan, who eliminated Hong Kong, China 3-1. South Korea and India will contend for the other final spot.
Chen Qingchen (R) and Jia Yifan of China compete against Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti of Indonesia during their women's team badminton quarterfinal at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 29, 2023. (Xinhua/Ren Zhenglai)
In the women's team quarterfinal, China smashed Indonesia 3-0 in three hours, and will take on reigning champion Japan in Saturday's semifinal.
After Chen Yufei earned China a 1-0 lead, easing past Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 21-14, 21-12, world No. 1 pair Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan outplayed Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti 21-12, 19-21, 22-20 in a 100-minute thriller.
He Bingjiao then closed out the match, defeating Putri Kusuma Wardani in straight games 21-15, 21-19.
The other women's team semifinal will pit South Korea against Thailand. ■
