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China beat Germany 5-0 to reach Thomas Cup quarter-finals
2006-04-30
World number one Lin Dan shrugged off a slow start to lead China's 5-0 victory over Germany in the Thomas Cup men's badminton championships. The 22-year-old All England champion came back from 6-13 down in the first game before staving off two game points to beat Bjoern Joppien 22-20, 21-7 and put China one up. Fu Haifeng and Cai Yun, and Xie Zhongbo and Guo Zhendong coasted to straightforward victories in their doubles Sunday. Bao Chunlai beat Roman Spitko 22-20, 21-8, and China Masters winner Chen Jin beat Marcel Reuter 16-21, 21-7, 21-5 to complete a whitewash. "I played better than two days ago," said Lin. "I just needed some time to move into my top gear. My opponent started the match aggressively, but once I took the first game I was able to play my usual game." As for the defence of the Thomas Cup, Lin added: "It is more difficult than our women's team to defend, because we have powerhouses like Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea. I'm just going to take match by match." China ended with two wins, while Malaysia -- without Asian champion Lee Chong Wei -- defeated England 5-0 to also finish top of the group with two wins and reach the quarter-finals of the knock-out round. Twelve teams were divided into four groups in the preliminary round and second and third placers will play from the first round. China will take on the winners between South Africa and England, while Malaysia will play either Germany or South Korea, who were beaten by Indonesia. European powerhouses Denmark shocked Japan 5-0, while 13-time champions Indonesia were made to work hard before beating South Korea 3-2 to make a quarter-final berth, respectively. Olympic and world champion Taufik Hidayat fell victim to Lee Hyun-Il 16-21, 21-10, 21-8. But after tying at 2-2, Simon Santoso breezed past Park Sung-Hwan 21-18, 21-16 in the decider. In the Uber Cup women's team event, heavily favoured China, led by world number one Zhang Ning and number two Xie Xingfang, lived up to their pre-tournament promise by beating Taiwan 5-0 for a second straight win. They will take on the winners between Singapore and New Zealand on Wednesday, vying for a fifth straight and 10th overall title. Hosts Japan became the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals when they defeated New Zealand 5-0, while South Korea downed Germany 4-1 to win their group round. The other quarter-final place was won by Hong Kong, led by Asian champion Wang Chen, who had already secored top place in their group by beating the Netherlands and England. Atlanta Olympic silver medallist Mia Audina Tjiptawan, who stayed away in their opening tie Friday, helped the Netherlands beat England 5-0 by winning both her singles and doubles matches.
Badminton: Bao ensures China wins men's singles (2006-09-23)Badminton: China flexes muscle at world badminton championships (2006-09-23)China beat Germany 5-0 to reach Thomas Cup quarter-finals (2006-04-30)Badminton-Holder Lin slumps to All England defeat (2005-03-13)Badminton-Super Dan easing Olympic heartache (2005-03-12)
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