China crush Vietnam in Thomas Cup

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, February 18, 2004

China crush Vietnam in Thomas Cup

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China thrashed Vietnam 5-0 to open their Thomas Cup Asian Zone campaign while hosts Malaysia's women scored an upset victory over Hong Kong in the Asian qualifiers of badminton's prestigious Uber Cup tournament.

Thailand's men were easy winners in the Thomas Cup, brushing aside Chinese Taipei 5-0.

Mighty China strolled past an inexperienced Vietnamese squad in their Group D clash.

Vietnam's doubles pair of Nguyen Tien Minh-Nguyen Quong Minh put up some resistance before going down to the more established Chinese pair of Sang Yang-Zheng Bo with a 15-11, 15-8 scoreline in 35 minutes.

Despite their win, China had a few worries of their own as Lin Dan was not his usual self as he laboured to a 15-12, 15-10 win over Nguyen Tien Minh.

Thailand, who are expected to give China a tough match when the two meet on Friday, also won 5-0 against Chinese Taipei.

However the Thais did not have it easy against the Chinese Taipei side as their top singles and doubles pairs were stretched to the limit before eventually winning their respective matches.

Recently crowned Thai Open champion Boonsak Polsana Boonsak was taken to three games by Chen Yu Hsiu before winning 7-15, 15-1, 15-12 in 55 minutes.

Crack Thai pair Sudket Prapakamol-Patapol Ngernsrisuk were also forced to play a rubber and took an hour before they could defeat Tsai Chia Hsin-Tseng Chung Lin 15-8, 14-17, 15-5.

However Pramote Teerawiwatana-Tesana Panvisvas had it easy against the likes of Huang Shih Chung-Chien Yu Hsun winning 15-3, 15-8.

Earlier in the morning South Korea defeated Macau 5-0 while India too recorded a 5-0 win over Iran in the Group A matches.

The surprise in the women's Uber Cup came when Malaysia shaded a tight Group A match 3-2, giving them an excellent chance of qualifying for the final rounds of the competition which is regarded as the sport's world championships for teams. The finals take place in Jakarta in May.

Doubles duo Wong Pei-Tty and Chin Eei Hui sealed victory in the decisive rubber by beating Hong Kong's Ling Wan-ting and Koon Wai-chee 15-7, 12-15, 15-10 to the delight of the home crowd.

The Malaysian pairing looked to have squandered victory when they blew a 12-7 lead in the second game to allow Hong Kong's Ling and Koon to level.

The Hong Kong women appeared to have seized the initiative after racing into an 8-2 lead in the third game, only for Wong and Chin to fight back and snatch a famous win.

Hong Kong, who have emerged as a force in the women's game in recent years, only had themselves to blame after they gambled all on winning both singles ties.

Though Wang Chen gave them a 1-0 lead by subduing a fighting Wong Mew Chew 8-11, 11-3, 11-1 in the first singles, it was the defeat of Ling Wan Ting at the hands of Woon Sze Mei that was to eventually cost them the tie.

Sze Mei won 11-6, 11-7 and this inspired 17-year-old youngster Norsyahliza Baharum to play above expectations to defeat Koon Wai Chee 11-9,11-6.

Malaysia will take on Japan, who played at half pace in their match against Macau but packed too much power to win 5-0.

In the Uber Cup Group B matches South Korea steamrolled Vietnam 5-0 while Chinese Taipei sent Thailand packing with an impressive 4-1 win.

Thailand had taken a 1-0 lead when Salakjit Polsana, the younger sister of Boonsak, defeated Cheng Shao Chieh 11-8, 11-3.

But Huang Chia Chi defeated Soratja Chansrisuko 11-4, 11-6 to ensure Chinese Taipei drew level before Huang Chia Hsin beat Monthila Meemek 13-11, 11-4.

The turning point of the tie came in the first doubles when Chien Yu Chin and Cheng Wen Hsiang defeated Saralee Thungthongkam and Sathinee Chankrachanewong 15-8, 13-15, 17-16 in a thrilling 88-minute encounter to take an unassailable 3-1 lead.

Source: agencies

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