Second seeds Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng from China didn't face much challenge from Howard Bach and Bob Malaythong from the United States in an Olympic badminton quarter-final, crushing them 21-9, 21-10 here on Wednesday.
The U.S. pair enjoyed a lucky draw by beating an obscure pair from South Africa in the first round, and set a record for the United States in Olympic badminton tournament with the quarter-final berth.
Bach and Malaythong, however, failed to charge real competition to the mighty Chinese pair as their defence was easily penetrated by Fu's powerful shots, and their paces on the court could not follow the speed of the opponents.
"Every rally is 50 to 50, but they seized most of the chances," said Malaythong who was apparently dissatisfied with the wide score.
"They are obviously one of the hottest teams at the tournament," said Bach, the 2005 world champion pairing with Indonesian badminton legend Tony Gunawan.
Cai and Fu showed their strong confidence in themselves from the very beginning. "Even when the score was tied at 9-9 in the second game, we didn't feel shaky," said Cai.
The world No.3 will meet Lee Jae Jin and Hwang Ji Man in the semifinal, over whom they had some edge in previous head-to-head encounters.
"Attitude and confidence will be the predominant factors in the semi-final, while the tactics will be second to them," said Fu, the fastest shuttler in the world.
(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2008)