KUNSHANG, East China, Oct. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Every team has fixed on their respective opponents in the semifinals of the men¡¯s team event after the last round of group stage ended at the Chinese 10th National Games badminton competition.
Jiangsu will have to meet face Fujian¡¯s challenge while Guangdong will take on dark horse Hong Kong.
In Group E, Guangdong smiled at last by outshining their main opponent Fujian 3-1.
The clash, previously tipped to be a close matchup, failed to satisfy the spectators as the battle was completely tuned to Guangdong¡¯s rhythm.
Chen Hong, seventh on the latest IBF rankings, joined Guangdong¡¯s Zhu Weilun to present a breath-taking match, beating the latter 15-10,17-14.
Then Qiu Bohui/Hu Zhilan were too weak to compete with top-class Chen Qiqiu/Fu Haifeng, losing the match 15-7, 15-11.
Depressing spirit seemed to spread over Fujian team, with second singles Gong Weijie losing 15-12, 15-5 to Wu Yunyong and second doubles Guo Zhendong/Zhang Weihong surrendering to Yu Jinhao/Zhu Lihua 15-11,15-4.
In an earlier match in Group F, hosts Jiangsu beat Hong Kong 3-0 without a hitch, making them the only team who didn¡¯t even surrender one single match in the team event. Jiangsu and Hong Kong finished first and second in Group F respectively.
In the clash, Chen Jin, who presented a super good form since the start of the badminton competition, kept his winning streak in team event by overpowering Chen Renjie 15-4, 15-3 in the first match.
"The 19-year-old youngster matured faster than his age, and the rising star could be another Olympic hopeful given the right conditions," said Zhang Hongbao, coach of the Jiangsu badminton team.
Veterans Liu Yong/Sun Jun were fielded to play the first doubles although they hadn¡¯t played before today¡¯s match.
Their rivals Lan Kaide/Yang Lifeng caused a lot of trouble at the very beginning when they led respectively 5-1, 8-2, and 9-13, but Liu/Sun¡¯s experience helped as they fought back with a 6-point-run to take the thrilling set 15-13.
The veterans, who came back for their hometown¡¯s glory, didn¡¯t hesitate to win the second 15-7.
In the third match, Jiangsu¡¯s new blood Qiu Yanbo beat Wai Weikang of Hong Kong 15-7,15-12 easily, making Jiangsu the first winning team to leave the court.
While some teams complained about their shortage of top-class shuttlers, Jiangsu was never haunted by talent famine, boasting current world and Olympic champions Zhang Jun, Cai Yun and world junior champion Chen Jin. They are strengthened by veteran guns Liu yong and Sun Jun.
Earlier in the morning, hosts Jiangsu women¡¯s team reached the semifinals of the badminton women¡¯s team event.
Hosts are joined by teams of Guangdong, Hunan, and PLA (People¡¯s Liberation Army). All the four teams are China¡¯s badminton powerhouses, as some of their shuttlers are world-class, including world number one Xie Xingfang from Guangdong, Gong Zhichao and Gong Ruina, both of Hunan.
Favorites Liaoning, led by Olympic champion Zhang Ning, was surprisingly beaten by Jiangsu, with Zhang lost to Lu Lan, a 18-year-old rising star 13-11, 11-1.
"Zhang Ning surrendered the game to save energy for the women¡¯s singles," said Chen Weihua, coach of PLA team, adding that Zhang¡¯s teammates were beaten both in the first singles and first doubles making it hopeless to enter semifinals.
The men¡¯s and women¡¯s team competitions each feature 12 teams, which are divided into two groups. The top two teams at the group stage will advance into the semifinals.
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