Champions China to face Japan in Sudirman Cup semi-finals
China and Japan made mince meat of their respective opponents in the quarter-finals to reach the last four in the Sudirman Cup mixed team championships at the Carrara Indoor Sports Stadium in Gold Coast, Australia on Friday.
Defending champions China who have won the silverware 10-times and are hot favourites to make it 11 in Gold Coast, ripped through India 3-0 while Japan once again showed their supremacy over Malaysia with a 3-1 win.
The China-Japan semi-final clash will be a repeat of the last edition final.
Except for a tough run in the opening match - which was the mixed doubles - India's new combination Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Ashwini Ponnappa did give the world No 2 a run for their money but Lu Kai-Huang Yaqiong still packed power and experience for a come-from-behind 16-21, 21-13, 21-16 win in 63 minutes.
It was a stroll for China in the men's singles with world and Olympic champion Chen Long too good for K. Srikanth to register a 21-16, 21-17 win in 48 minutes.
The men's doubles was another stroll for the Chinese with Rio Olympics champions Fu Haifeng-Zhang Nan wrapping up the match and tie with a 21-9, 21-11 over Satwiksairaj-Chirag Shetty - in only 29 minutes.
For Malaysia any hopes of avenging their 3-2 defeat to Japan in the group stage disappeared into thin air with the defeat of their top men's doubles pair Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong against Takeshi Kamura-Keigo Sonoda.
The Malaysians were the losers again in another three-set game. This time the Japanese won 21-17, 16-21, 21-11 in an hour-long encounter. Malaysia needed the opening point badly for any hope to to give Japan a fight for a place in the semi-finals.
Former All-England champion Nozomi Okuhara was never challenged by Soniia Cheah in the women's singles - and walked away with an easy 21-11, 21-9 in 34 minutes.
As expected Lee Chong Wei gave Malaysia their solitary point with a 21-15, 21-13 win over Kenta Nishomoto in the men's singles.
Japan took an unassailable 3-1 lead through their Olympics champions and world No 1 Misaki Matsutomo-Ayaka Takahashi with an effortless 21-7, 21-14 win over Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei in 44 minutes in the women's doubles.
Japan, the Asian Mixed Team champions, thus set up a thriller in the semis against the Chinese.
GROUP 1
QUARTER FINALS
China beat India 3-0
(China first)
XD: Lu Kai-Huang Yaqiong beat Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Ashwini Ponnappa 16-21, 21-13, 21-16
MS: Chen Long beat K. Srikanth 21-16, 21-17
MD: Fu Haifeng-Zhang Nan beat Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty 21-9, 21-11
Japan beat Malaysia 3-1
(Japan first)
MD: Takeshi Kamura-Keigo Sonoda beat Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong 21-17, 16-21, 21-11
WS: Nozomi Okuhara beat Soniia Cheah 21-11, 21-9
MS: Kenta Nishimoto lost to Lee Chong Wei 15-21, 13-21
WD: Misaki Matsutomo-Ayaka Takahashi beat Vivian Hoo-Woon Khe Wei 21-7, 21-14
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