Axelsen, An cruise into badminton China Open quarters
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E-mail Xinhua, September 8, 2023
World No. 1s Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and An Se-young of South Korea progressed into the last eight at the badminton China Open on Thursday.
Feng Yanzhe (L)/Huang Dongping of China compete during the mixed doubles second round match between Feng Yanzhe/Huang Dongping of China and Ye Hong Wei/Lee Chia Hsin of Chinese Taipei at the 2023 China Open badminton tournament in Changzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Sept. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Yang Lei)
Olympic champion Axelsen had a challenging start against Wang Tzu-wei of Chinese Taipei, losing the first game 22-20, but regrouped himself and dominated the subsequent games 21-6, 21-14.
"It's a little difficult for me to control the shuttlecock in the first game because of the wind. I'm very happy to win and my opponent played very well today," said the Dane, who will contend with seventh-seeded Loh Kean Yew of Singapore for a semifinal spot.
China's eighth seed Shi Yuqi knocked out Denmark's Rasmus Gemke 21-11, 16-21, 21-16 to book his quarterfinal berth, while another Chinese shuttler Lu Guangzu defeated his teammate Li Shifeng 21-19, 21-12 to progress.
In the women's singles, 21-year-old newly-crowned world champion An beat China's Wang Zhiyi 21-14, 22-20 to storm into the quarterfinals. Second-seeded Akane Yamaguchi of Japan and China's third seed Chen Yufei also progressed with straight-game victories.
Women's doubles top seeds and defending champions Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan of China got past Yeung Nga Ting and Yeung Pui Lam of Hong Kong, China 21-15, 21-19.
"My cough did affect my performance, but I felt better than yesterday," admitted Chen.
In the mixed doubles, top-ranked duo Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong of China notched a 2-0 victory over Indonesia's Dejan Ferdinansyah and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja in 34 minutes. They will next take on South Korean pair Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung, who were recently crowned at the 2023 BWF World Championships in Copenhagen.
Home favorites Liang Weikeng/Wang Chang and Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi will meet in the men's doubles quarterfinal after ousting their respective opponents.
