Japan and Indonesia reach last four at Sudirman Cup

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Title favorites Japan swept Malaysia 3-0 and Indonesia edged Chinese Taipei 3-2 in the Sudirman Cup quarterfinals on Friday.

Malaysian badminton player Teo Ee Yi was bloodied and shaken after his doubles partner accidentally smashed him in the face with his shin during their defeat to Japan.

The 26-year-old lay prone on the court floor for nearly 10 minutes with a gashed chin, blood pouring down his neck, with the men's doubles clash against top seeds Japan locked at 19-19 in the deciding game.

Teo suffered the injury after he and playing partner Ong Yew Sin both dived in an attempt to retrieve the same shot, and Ong's trailing left leg caught Teo in the face.

Although Teo eventually climbed off the floor to continue with a large bandage on his chin, the Malaysian duo appeared to have lost their edge.

Teo Ee Yi (Front) of Malaysia gets an injury during the men's doubles match against Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda of Japan at Sudirman Cup on May 24, 2019. /VCG Photo

They saved a second match point against Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda, but could not ultimately prevent going down to a dramatic defeat spread over 95 thrilling minutes.

Teo refused to blame the attritional three-game loss on the injury, but said: "It's quite a big cut and I think it's going to need stitches."

The painful defeat put Japan 1-0 up in the tie in the Chinese city of Nanning and on the way to a semi-finals meeting with Indonesia.

Men's world number one Kento Momota and Nozomi Okuhara triumphed in their singles matches to give Japan -- who have never won the Sudirman Cup -- an unassailable 3-0 lead.

Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei beats an off-color Jonatan Christie to put his team 2-1 ahead. /VCG Photo

Chinese Taipei lost out in a seesaw battle against Indonesia, who won the Sudirman Cup for the only time when it hosted the inaugural tournament in 1989.

The tie opened with the men's doubles, as world No. 1 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo beat Indonesia's Lee Yang and Wang Chi Lin 21-17, 21-17.

Chinese Taipei leveled up through the women's singles, where top-ranked Tai Tzu Ying overwhelmed Mariska Tunjung 21-16, 21-14 before fourth-ranked Chou Tien Chen gave Chinese Taipei a 2-1 lead after seeing off Jonatan Christie 21-11, 21-13 in the men's singles.

Indonesia fought back in the women's doubles, before winning the overall tie through Praveen Jordan and Melati Daeva Oktavianti, who downed Hsieh Pei Shan and Wang Chi Lin 21-17, 21-15 in the mixed doubles.

Greysia Polii (L) and Apriyani Rahayu(R) are too strong for Pai Yu Po and Wu Ti Jung of Chinese Taipei. /VCG Photo

"I felt a little bit nervous before the match, but when it started, I just focused on the court and forgot that it was the deciding match," Oktavianti said.

Japan, who are seeking their first ever Sudirman title, will play Indonesia in the semifinals on Saturday. Another is between the hosts China, who are the hot favorites to win the mixed-team world championship for the 11th time, and Thailand.

(With input from AFP, Xinhua)