Team China's Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong reached the badminton Denmark Open semifinals after outclassing Thailand's Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai 21-10, 18-21, 21-15 on Friday.
Zheng and Huang, who are ranked world No.1 and three-time winners of the World Championships, had an 11-2 head-to-head record against the world No. 5 going into their quarterfinal clash.
Zheng Siwei (L) and Huang Yaqiong in action during Denmark Open quarterfinal round in Odense, Denmark, October 20, 2023. /CFP
The Chinese duo had an easy opening set win with solid defense and effective tactic of making their rivals run.
The two pairs took turns to lead in the second set till 18-18, before which the gap was always under two points, as both geared up on their defense. The Chinese pair, though, committed a few errors which the Thai duo quickly capitalized on to level the match 1-1.
Zheng and Huang took an early lead 7-3 in the decider, but it was shortly leveled again by their opponents at 7-7, before the Tokyo Olympic silver medalists reestablished a 11-7 lead.
The Thai pair, who won their only World Championships title in 2021, refused to renounce the game as they continued to force a draw, but the Chinese duo clinched multiple points in a row, ultimately roaring to a 21-15 victory.
"Today we were a little disappointed at the end of the second (set), because we were leading the match," Zheng admitted after the match.
"But we adjusted our mind to play the 3rd one. I think our performance was pretty good, " he added.
"We aren't thinking about our victory here last year. Every match is tough here, and we will face against South Korean players again. We are just taking one step at a time in each match," added Huang when the pair was asked about their goal this time as the defending champions.
Earlier on October 7, Zheng and Huang defended their title and world ranking at the Hangzhou Asian Games in east China's Zhejiang Province, with a 2-0 victory over world No. 2, Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino of Japan.
Meanwhile, Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan eased into the women's doubles semifinals, as Team China's shuttlers are featured in a total of nine matches across all five events on Friday.