China whitewash Denmark to meet Indonesia in Sudirman Cup quarters

Staff members show the draw result during the knockout draw ceremony at BWF Sudirman Cup in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, May 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Hou Zhaokang)

SUZHOU, China, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Hosts China topped Sudirman Cup Group A by crushing Denmark 5-0 here on Thursday and will meet Indonesia in the quarterfinals.

China, the most successful team in tournament history, have won 12 of the past 17 editions and never missed the quarterfinals.

Other clashes in the knockout stage will see South Korea meet Chinese Taipei, Thailand face Japan, and Malaysia take on Denmark on Friday.

Mixed doubles duo Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong put the holders ahead after defeating Mathias Thyrri and Amalie Magelund 21-9, 21-19, before Li Shifeng suffered a scare in the men's singles 89-minute thriller.

23-year-old Li, who won the All England Open in March, was making his Sudirman Cup debut against Rasmus Gemke.

Li won the first set 21-15 but the Dane fought back to take the second set 21-16. Li was then on the backfoot in the beginning of the decider but he took his chances to claim the tie.

"My mentality wasn't affected by the second set. I was ready to play the third set when I fell behind," said Li.

"I was confident that no matter what happened, I would dare to fight and I wouldn't have any worries," he added.

Olympic women's singles champion Chen Yufei eased past Line Christophersen 21-8, 21-11 in only 36 minutes to make it 3-0 and secure first place in Group A for China, and doubles pairs Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi and Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan also hammered their respective opponents in straight sets.

Elsewhere, Singapore thrashed Egypt 5-0 but both teams were eliminated from the tournament. Also on Thursday, Thailand stunned Indonesia 3-2 to top Group B, while Canada also had a 3-2 win over Germany in the same group.

A screen shows the draw results during the knockout draw ceremony at BWF Sudirman Cup in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, May 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Hou Zhaokang)

Staff members show the draw result during the knockout draw ceremony at BWF Sudirman Cup in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, May 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Hou Zhaokang)