Chen Qingchen (L)/Jia Yifan of China celebrate scoring during the badminton women's doubles group play stage group A match of Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)
PARIS, July 28 (Xinhua) -- China's shuttlers maintained an unbeaten streak in all badminton group matches at the 2024 Olympic Games on Sunday.
The top-seeded women's doubles team of Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan triumphed over Indonesia's Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti 21-12, 24-22. This victory at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena marked a measure of revenge for Chen and Jia, who had been defeated by Rahayu and her former partner, Greysia Polii, in the Tokyo Olympic final in 2021.
Chen celebrated the victory by kneeling and shouting in jubilation. "We were happy to be in a group with them so that we were guaranteed a chance to play against them," Jia commented, expressing her satisfaction at being able to make up for their previous defeat.
In the men's doubles, China's top seeds Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang also delivered a compelling performance, securing a victory over Britain's Ben Lane and Sean Vendy in three sets, 21-18, 13-21, 21-14. The British pair pushed the match to a decider, showcasing resilience in the second set.
In another gripping encounter, Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning of China overcame Bulgarian sisters Gabriela and Stefani Stoeva in three sets, 19-21, 21-10, 21-16.
The singles competition also saw top seeds making strong starts. In the men's singles, Kodai Naraoka of Japan, Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia, Li Shifeng of China and Denmark's Anders Antonsen all emerged victorious in their opening matches.
China's Chen Yufei, the second-seeded player in women's singles and gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, battled to a 21-14, 17-21, 21-9 win over Germany's Yvonne Li.
Elsewhere, women's singles leading seeds An Se-young of South Korea, Pusarla V. Sindhu of India, and Spain's Carolina Marin all cruised to victories in straight sets, setting the stage for what promises to be an exciting tournament ahead. ■
Li Shifeng (R) of China competes against Tobias Kuenzi of Switzerland during the badminton men's singles group play stage group N match of Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)
Li Shifeng of China acknowledges the audience after the badminton men's singles group play stage group N match of Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)
Tobias Kuenzi of Switzerland competes during the badminton men's singles group play stage group N match of Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)
Chen Qingchen (L)/Jia Yifan of China celebrate scoring during the badminton women's doubles group play stage group A match of Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)
Chen Yufei of China returns a shot during the badminton women's single group play stage group P match against Yvonne Li of Germany at Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)
Yvonne Li of Germany hits a shot during the badminton women's single group play stage group P match against Chen Yufei of China at Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)
Coach Luo Yigang (R) instructs Chen Yufei of China during the badminton women's single group play stage group P match against Yvonne Li of Germany at Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)
Chen Yufei of China competes during the badminton women's singles group play stage group P match against Yvonne Li of Germany at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Ren Zhenglai)
Liu Yuchen (front)/Ou Xuanyi of China compete during the badminton men's doubles group play stage group D match against Vinson Chiu/Joshua Yuan of the United States at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Ren Zhenglai)
Chou Tien-Chen of Chinese Taipei reacts during the badminton men's singles group play stage group I match against Luis Ramon Garrido of Mexico at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Ren Zhenglai)
An Se Young of South Korea competes during the badminton women's single group play stage group A match against Kaloyana Nalbantova of Bulgaria at Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Ren Zhenglai)
H.S. Prannoy of India competes during the badminton men's single group play stage group K match against Fabian Roth of Germany at Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Ren Zhenglai)
Gabriela Stoeva (R)/Stefani Stoeva of Bulgaria compete during the badminton women's doubles group play stage group B match against Liu Shengshu/Tan Ning of China at Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)
An Se Young of South Korea competes during the badminton women's single group play stage group A match against Kaloyana Nalbantova of Bulgaria at Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Ren Zhenglai)
Liu Shengshu (L)/Tan Ning of China react during the badminton women's doubles group play stage group B match against Gabriela Stoeva/Stefani Stoeva of Bulgaria at Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)
Gabriela Stoeva (R)/Stefani Stoeva of Bulgaria react during the badminton women's doubles group play stage group B match against Liu Shengshu/Tan Ning of China at Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)
Liu Shengshu (R)/Tan Ning of China compete during the badminton women's doubles group play stage group B match against Gabriela Stoeva/Stefani Stoeva of Bulgaria at Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)
