Second seed Du Jing and Yu Yang took a sweet revenge for their compatriots Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen and reached the women's doubles semifinal by crushing Japanese pair Kumiko Ogura and Reiko Shiota 21-8, 21-5 at the Olympic Games on Monday.
The fledging pair from Liaoning Province showed their energetic strength consistently in the whole match by smashing the shuttlecock on the opponents' court again and again amid the chants from the enthusiastic home crowd.
Yang and Zhang, top seed at the Olympic Games, were ousted by the other pair of Japan Miyuki Maeda and Satoko Suetsuna earlier on Monday.
"The loss of Yang and Zhang actually encouraged us to defend the glory of Chinese women's doubles," said Yu Yang, who participated in the Olympic Games for the first time.
"We've done enough preparations for this match, and kept a cool mind on the court," said the 22-year-old who will also pair with He Hanbin to play mixed doubles at the Games.
In another women's doubles quarterfinal, third seed Wei Yili and Zhang Yawen beat Chien Yu Chin and Cheng Wen Hsing 21-14, 21-18.
The two Chinese pairs will play against each other in the semifinal and thus secure a berth for China in the women's doubles' final.
(Xinhua News Agency August 11, 2008)