COPENHAGEN, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) — Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yufei started her fifth World Championships with a robust begin because the third seed overcame Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei in straight video games on Tuesday, setting her sights on her maiden world title.
Last yr in Tokyo, the 25-year-old reached the world championships remaining however was defeated by Japanese standout Akane Yamaguchi.
In her fifth conflict in opposition to Pai, and their third in 2023, Chen took management from the start, attaining a swift 21-14, 21-13 victory in simply 34 minutes in opposition to the 32-year-old veteran.
“We have played several times recently, so I could have a good preparation before the match since we know each other very well. I did well in reducing the errors which helped me win the match,” Chen mentioned.
Chen’s Chinese compatriots He Bingjiao and Wang Zhiyi additionally marked their development to the spherical of 16. The fifth-seeded He made a comeback in opposition to Putri Kusuma Wardani, ending 18-21, 21-19, 21-17. Tenth-seeded Wang Zhiyi moved previous Germany’s Yvonne Li with a 21-18, 21-11 scoreline.
The contest between ex-champions P.V. Sindhu and Nozomi Okuhara was a serious spotlight. Both had been finalists within the 2017 and 2019 editions, every securing one title. This time, Okuhara, after trailing 0-9 within the second sport, got here again to win the match 21-14, 21-14, advancing to spherical three.
“I feel much better today,” mentioned Okuhara, who skipped the earlier World Championships on account of a proper femoral stress fracture. “I wasn’t nervous at all. It was just myself challenging a good opponent. It was difficult getting back when I was 0-9 down, but once I reached 11, I was able to regain my confidence.”
In the lads’s singles, China’s sixth seed Li Shifeng handily defeated Malaysia’s world No. 34 Kantaphon Wangcharoen 21-10, 21-12. The 23-year-old, a victor within the All-England Open, took simply 44 minutes to safe his revenge for a defeat finally yr’s Japan Open.
“Last time against him, I played very aggressively but lacked changes (in tactics) on the court. You cannot win the match if you only attack and attack. This time, I’ve learned lessons from that defeat and tried to play with more patience,” Li mentioned.
Li, having gained the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, has had a commendable yr with two BWF Tour titles and two second-place finishes. He subsequent faces Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei, who gained in opposition to China’s Lu Guangzu 21-16, 18-21, 21-19.
Wang, 28, had overwhelmed Lu on the similar stage in Tokyo the earlier yr earlier than succumbing to Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie within the quarterfinals.
Local prime seed Viktor Axelsen continued his dominant efficiency, permitting French challenger Christo Popov solely 14 factors of their encounter, decisively transferring to spherical three with scores of 21-6, 21-8 in simply half-hour.
In the blended doubles, prime seeds Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong, together with two different Chinese duos, began with victories. In males’s doubles, Ren Xiangyu/Tan Qiang additionally secured a win.