All the Chinese shuttlers who competed on the first day of the Badminton World Championships in Tokyo have advanced to the second round on Monday.

Shi Yuqi beat low-ranked Ade Resky Dwicahyo of Azerbaijan in his first match in 10 months. Shi was suspended last October by the Chinese Badminton Association for making "inappropriate remarks" about the withdrawal from the Thomas Cup semifinal against Japan's Kento Momota.

Shi, who finished second at the 2018 worlds, looked rusty at the start, trailing the former Indonesian player 14-9 in the first set. But he managed to level the score at 15-15 and took the set 22-20.

The 28-year-old found his pace in the second set, winning 21-10 to set up a second-round showdown against 11th seed Rasmus Gemke of Finland, who defeated compatriot Kalle Koljonen 21-10, 21-8.

"I was a bit nervous soon after standing on the court," said Shi. "It's a long time since I played a match last time, so when my opponent played well, and I made some mistakes, it was easy to be left behind."

When asked what score he would give himself on the performance, Shi said, "It should be very low if it was played last year, but considering it was my first match after a long absence, I would rate myself six out of 10." 

Two other Chinese players in the men's singles category also advance to the second round. Lu Guangzu beat Toby Penty of England 21-9, 13-21, 21-14. Meanwhile, Zhao Junpeng enjoyed a walkover victory over Nigeria's Anuoluwapo Juwon Opeyori, who failed to show up.

On the women's side, China's Han Yue defeated Qi Xuefei of France 21-14, 21-15 and directly secured a spot in the last 16, as her next opponent, Indian star PV Sindhu, had withdrawn from the championship due to an injury.

Young Chinese duo Liu Xuanxuan/Xia Yuting took only 26 minutes to defeat Brazilian pair Jaqueline Lima/Samia Lima 21-7, 21-7. They will face Chinese compatriots Du Yue/Li Wenmei in the next round.

Top seed and Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, who beat Shi in the semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics last year, also advanced with a victory over Liew Daren of Malaysia 21-16, 21-12. He will next take on Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands. 

Axelsen, the 2017 world champion, said he was satisfied with his victory. 

"I had expected a tough match," he said. "I made very careful preparation for this championships. I really look forward to winning again, but I want to focus on the next match and don't want to look too far."

Meanwhile, second seed Momota, bidding for his third world title, took only 37 minutes to see off the 82nd-ranked Lino Munoz of Mexico 21-16, 21-14 to reach the second round.

The local favorite will next face India's H.S. Prannoy, who breezed past Austria's Luka Wraber 21-12, 21-11. 

Third seed Anders Antonsen of Denmark became the biggest name to crash out in the first round. He went down to Japan's Kenta Nishimoto 21-15, 21-19.

(With input from Xinhua)

(Cover image: Shi Yuqi of China competes in the men's singles match against Ade Resky Dwicahyo of Azerbaijan at the BWF World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, August 22, 2022. /CFP)