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| Badminton: Favorites Triumph on Opening Day of Thomas, Uber Cups |
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Defending champions China, both men and women, met few difficulties Friday in Sendai, Japan on the opening day of the 24th Thomas Cup and the 21st Uber Cup, blanking Indian men's team and the women's team of the United States respectively. "The performances of our boys and girls are normal," said Chinese head coach Li Yongbo, adding that the purpose of the first-day lineup is to let players adapt to the environment and to see their form. He also confirmed that in the following matches on Sunday, the lineups of the Chinese teams will differ from that of today. In the Thomas Cup, Chinese World No. 1 Lin Dan became the only shuttler who lost one game in the match between China and India. He was stretched to full games by Chetan Anand, ranked 23rd in the world. Lin Dan secured the first point for the Chinese team with a score of 21-8, 21-23 and 21-11. China's main rivalries, Malaysia, Denmark and South Korea, won their matches against the United States, South Africa and New Zealand respectively with an identical score of 5-0. Danish team head coach Steen Petersen said he's confident of beating any upcoming opponents with their players' experience and fitness. He also said the Chinese team is the strongest one in the men's team event. In the Uber Cup, the Chinese, spearheaded by Olympic champion Zhang Ning and world champion Xie Xingfang, easily defeated the United States without dropping one game. The Chinese girls, the definite favorite, are vying for the fifth title in a row and the tenth in total in the Uber Cup. The host Japanese women shuttlers, cheered by local fans, finished an easy work by beating African champion South African 5-0. From 1965 to 1981, Japanese girls brought the Uber Cup back home for five times. In other matches of the Uber Cup on Friday, the European champions Netherlands put their number one player Mia Audina on bench, allowing Hong Kong, China to have an unexpected 3-2 victory. The winner of the group will probably meet China in the semi-finals. South Korea, runners-up in the last tournament held in Jarkata in 2004, trounced Singapore 4-1. (Xinhua News Agency April 29, 2006) |
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