China open world championship assault

China's Chen Jin returns a shot to Portugal's Marco Vasconcelos during the men's singles match of the World Badminton Championships in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Chen won 21-9, 21-5. Reuters

China's shuttlers, who dominate the world rankings, are seeking a clean sweep of all five titles as they attempt to tighten their grip on the sport ahead of next year's Beijing Olympics.

With the Chinese stars not taking to the courts until today, it was left to formidable foot soldiers Chen and world No 7 Chen Yu to kick-start the proceedings in the first round.

Chen Jin never even got out of first gear against unseeded Marco Vasconcelos from Portugal, winning 21-9, 21-5 to move into the second round.

"We are all playing well, and we are confident and hope that we can win the five titles," Chen said.

Chen Yu earlier beat New Zealand's John Moody 21-13, 21-11 despite a commendable performance from the Kiwi.

Peter Gade, the only European considered capable of standing up to the Chinese juggernaut, also moved into the second round after a tough 21-18, 21-10 workout against England's unseeded Andrew Smith.

The Dane, a veteran of these championships with one silver and two bronze medals, said he was satisfied with his performance and confident of his chances in Kuala Lumpur after winning the Malaysian Open earlier this year.

"He (Smith) has good technique and some very good shots," Gade, 31, said.

"(But) I got control in the second game, so I'm pretty satisfied.

"I only played for 40 minutes in the stadium so I need some time to get adjusted, and I think this was a good start," the fifth seed said.

Malaysia, gunning for their first ever world championship title, had reason to cheer earlier in the day when Muhammad Roslin Hashim despatched Sweden's Magnus Sahlberg 21-17, 21-9.

"I've trained here before but this is something different. I just tried to stay in control and keep control of my nerves. The second set was easier than the first," said Hashim, who now faces Chen Jin in the second round.

Sixteenth seed Simon Santoso stole some of the spotlight with a come-from-behind 20-22, 21-11, 21-19 victory against Vietnam ace Nguyen Tien Minh.

After losing the first game, and fighting back to equalise in the second, the Indonesian was down 15-18 in the third, before digging deep to draw level.

At 18-18, he conceded one more point before storming home in an enthralling encounter that saw both players diving on the floor in desperation to reach shots.

On the women's side, Yip Pui Yin from Hong Kong, seeded 11, defeated Trupti Murgunde from India 21-17, 21-13.

The Asian Games silver medallist had a tough first set before quickly wrapping up the second to join compatriot Wang Chen in the next round.

AFP

(China Daily 08/15/2007 page23)