Japan, Malaysia off to perfect start at Sudirman Cup
XIAMEN, China - Japan got off to a flying start in their bid for a first Sudirman Cup title by thrashing Australia 5-0, while Group C rivals Malaysia thumped France by the same score at the biennial mixed team competition on Monday.
Japan got on the board through mixed doubles pair Hiroki Midorikawa and Natsu Saito before teenager Tomoka Miyazaki won her singles match 21-12 21-9 against Tiffany Ho. Kodai Naraoka sealed the tie with his men's singles win over Jack Yu.
Japan finished runners-up in 2015, 2019 and 2021.
Malaysia, who are also chasing a first Sudirman Cup title, opened with a victory for their men's doubles pair before Goh Jin Wei and Leong Jun Hao won their respective singles matches to take the tie.
In Group B, South Korea lost their men's singles match when Jeon Hyeok-jin went down 21-10 23-21 to Canada's Victor Lai, but the four-times champions levelled through Paris Olympic women's champion An Se-young before winning the remaining three matches.
The South Koreans, who beat Czech Republic 4-1 on Sunday, have now ensured a top-two finish in Group B at the April 27-May 4 tournament, guaranteeing their progress to the quarter-finals.
In the evening session, Taiwan also marched into the last eight with their second Group B win, beating the Czechs 5-0 as their players did not lose a single game.
Defending champions China also made the quarters as they cruised to a 5-0 win over Hong Kong, their second in a row in Group A, with Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Chen Yufei brushing aside Lo Sin Yan Happy 21-8 21-4.
Thailand, who routed Algeria 5-0, also reached the last eight ahead of their final match with China on Wednesday. REUTERS
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