Defending champion China showcased its prowess on Thursday, advancing to the semifinals of the Uber Cup women's badminton team championship with a convincing 3-0 victory over Malaysia in Horsens, Denmark.

The competition started with a formidable performance from World No. 2 Wang Zhiyi, who celebrated her 26th birthday just one day earlier. In the opening women's singles match, Wang defeated Karupathevan Letshanaa 21-17, 21-18. Reflecting on her special day, Wang cheerily said, "I guess everybody knows my birthday wish. What I can do is focus on managing myself on the court, rather than trying to control my opponents."

Wang acknowledged the difficulties presented by the match, noting, "It was also a new test for me personally. As the knockout phase begins, I hope to take lessons from this match, keep improving and get better with each competition."

In doubles action, the World No. 1 pair of Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning faced a tough challenge from Malaysia's Ong Xin Yee and Carmen Ting. After initially struggling, they pulled off a 21-14, 16-21, 21-13 victory.

Closing out the contest, former Olympic gold medalist Chen Yufei put together a dominant performance against Wong Ling Ching, triumphing 21-10 and 21-10 to wrap up clean sweep for China, which will face Japan in the semifinals on Saturday.