To badminton and the BWF Thomas and Uber Cup being held in the Chinese city of Kunshan in Jiangsu Province. The hosts took on Japan knowing the winners of the encounter will advance to the quarter-finals as leaders of Group A. Defending champions Japan were certainly the toughest test for China so far and were also responsible for beating the PRC in the semi-finals stage two years ago in New Delhi, India.
Both teams were already assured of advancing after wins over France and Mexico. First up is China's Chen Long against Japan's Sho Sasaki in the best-of-five – and Sasaki would have to be at his sharpest, as a well-angled shot gives Chen a 5-4 lead.
27-year-old Chen is ranked number one in the world, while Sasaki is outside the top 20. But the Japanese player puts up a spirited fight in the first game, responding to the best Chen could throw at him to take it 22-20 in just under half an hour.
Sasaki makes a promising start to the second, but Chen would prove too much and he takes it 21-17 to force a decider.
And the final game is a one-way affair. Chen in the zone as he breezes to a 21-12 victory to give China a 1-0 lead in the tie.
Next up it is the doubles and the Chinese pair of Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan taking on the Japanese duo of Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa.
Fu and Zhang are ranked third in the world, and they would take the first set 21-19.
The Chinese pair look to be in control of the second game as they go up 11-4.
But back comes Japan as their fast reactions push the Chinese to make some mistakes. Endo and Hayakawa complete the turnaround to win the game 27-25.
But the momentum turn in favor of the hosts in the decider. The Chinese pair take it 21-15 for a 2-1 victory.That makes it 2-0 China, meaning that if Lin Dan could beat Takuma Ueda the tie would be all over.
Lin is a former world number one while Ueda is only 44th in the world an would face a tough task against Super Dan. But the opening set is surprisingly tight before Lin clinches it 21-18.
The second is less so – two-time Olympic champion Lin cruises to victory 21-8. The match lasts just 42 minutes and China go through as Group A winners with the final two games dead rubbers. The hosts will face old rivals South Korea in the quarter-finals.
