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Wang Yilyu (L)/Huang Dongping of China celebrates with the championship trophy after winning the final at the Sudirman Cup in Vantaa, Finland, October 3, 2021. /CFP
Chinese badminton players are heading to Denmark to attend Thomas & Uber Cup less than a week after winning the championship at the Sudirman Cup for the 12th time in Finland. Zhang Jun, president of the Chinese Badminton Association, praised the players' performance at the Sudirman Cup and encouraged them to stay "hungry" for the next challenge.
Zhang called the Chinese mixed doubles pair Wang Yilyu/Huang Dongping the most reliable weapon. The two can be trusted to appear in the last match after 2-2 score and claim the final victory for the national team.
Chen Yufei of China celebrates with the championship trophy after winning the final at the Sudirman Cup in Vantaa, October 3, 2021. /CFP
Tokyo Olympic women's singles gold medalist Chen Yufei lost to Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 2-0 in the final of the Sudirman Cup. But Zhang still spoke highly of Chen. "Chen works hard preparing for all matches. Sometimes she may lose the first game not because she underperformed, but because her opponent found the way to throttle her, or she chose the wrong tactic and things did not go her way. Losing the first game is not a big deal. She's always able to adjust her performance judging by the results of her matches," said Zhang.
"She is the Olympic champion. Everyone wants to beat her. If she always starts off giving the most efforts like a rookie, she wouldn't be the Olympic champion in the first place," added Zhang.
Shi Yuqi of China celebrates after defeating Kento Momota of Japan in the final at the Sudirman Cup in Vantaa, October 3, 2021. /CFP
Shi Yuqi was struggling with injury and lost to Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn and Denmark's Viktor Axelsen in the group stage and quarterfinal respectively. However, Shi managed to defeat South Korea's Heo Kwang-hee and Japan's Kento Momota in the semifinal and final, making key contributions to China's victory in the end.
"Shi is recovering well after a long-period time of adjusting. Beating Momota again in the final is a great help to him building stronger confidence," said Zhang.
China planned to have Wang pair with Liu Cheng to participate in the men's doubles match from the semifinal, but the team won both the semifinal 3-0 without having to play the men's doubles match.
This year's Thomas & Uber Cup will happen between October 9 and 17 in Aarhus, Denmark.
