China's Zhou Haodong (R)/Liu Cheng compete against India's M.R. Arjun and Dhruv Kapila in the mens' doubles competition during the group A match between China and India at Badminton Surdiman Cup 2021 in Vantaa, Finland, Sept 27, 2021. (Photo/Xinhua)
China settled all the matches in straight sets and claimed a 5-0 victory over India in the second round of badminton mixed team at the Sudirman Cup in Vantaa, Finland on Monday.
The men's doubles match was the only nail biting game where India created troubles for China's newly paired Liu Cheng and Zhou Haodong, who sealed the win 22-20, 21-17 over Madathil Ramachandran Arjun and Dhruv Kapila.
Having had the experience of competing at the 2015 Sudirman Cup, Liu told Xinhua he felt a bit different this time.
"We played the starting match today. Zhou and me, we did not have much training together. Perhaps we responded and acted a bit slower when losing points, but we had a good finish. I believe we can do much better if we have more communication," said Liu.
Zhou believes that they had aggressive shots in the beginning of the first set. "We slowed down our pace a bit when leading, which led to the situation that we're not comfortable with."
In other matches, the Chinese shuttlers met few challenges as Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yufei smashed Aditi Bhatt 21-9, 21-8 in the women's singles as Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Sindhu of India didn't show up at Vantaa.
Shi Yuqi defeated Sai Praneeth 21-10, 21-10 in the men's singles, while Li Wenmei and Zheng Yu downed Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy 21-16, 21-13 in the women's doubles.
In the final match of the mixed doubles, Du Yue along with her 20-year-old partner Feng Yanzhe finished strong against Srikanth Kidambi and Rutaparna Panda 21-9, 21-9.
Du told Xinhua that as a new pair, she and Feng has made apparent progress after team training. She also used her previous Sudirman Cup experience to encourage Feng to relax before taking to the court.
"I remember I was very nervous playing my first Sudirman Cup two years ago," said Du. "I told Feng not to think too much and to play his best. And he did it today. Fantastic!"
Feng struck a confident tone, saying he actually did not know too much about his opponents. "Kidambi is a strong singles player and that's all I know about him. No matter whom I face, I'll try my best. The game proved that we're well prepared and better in counterattack."
The Chinese team has won all the matches by now without losing one single set. The defending champion will encounter Thailand on Wednesday in Group A.
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