BWF French Open: Shi advances as Asiad winners out

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Chinese shuttlers fared differently in singles and doubles events on the first match day at the BWF French Open 2018, as three singles players made their way into the second round but half of its pairs crashed out from the tournament on Tuesday.

Men's singles No. 2 seed Shi Yuqi shrugged off Japan's Kanta Tsuneyama 21-14, 21-16.

Shi, upset in the first round in last week's Denmark Open, told Xinhua, "Now I have made a step forward (going through the first round). I will do my best this week."

China's Shi Yuqi during the first round match against Japan's Kanta Tsuneyama in the 2018 French Open, Paris, France, October 23, 2018. /VCG Photo

South Korean Son Wan Ho rallied past Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto 16-21, 26-24, 22-20 in an 87-minute tussle, but fourth-seeded Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei and No. 8 seed Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia both faltered on the opening day.

Chinese women's shuttler He Bingjiao steadied her nerves in both games to overcome Indonesia's Fitriani Fitriani 21-17, 21-19.

He, finishing third at the Denmark Open, said, "I just arrived here yesterday, so I still could not play at a very good level and faced some challenges in my first match."

He was joined by teammate Cai Yanyan in the second round as the latter beat Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong 18-21, 23-21, 21-15.

Two Chinese pairs sailed through men's doubles first round. Second-seeded Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen got past India's Arjun M R and Ramchandran Shlok 21-14, 21-17.

A younger duo of Han Chengkai and Zhou Haodong, who made into the China Open final last month, outscoring Japan's Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi 21-10, 21-16.

Asian Games women's doubles gold medalists Chen Qingchen-Jia Yifan trailed throughout the match before losing to Japan's Naoko Fukuman-Kurumi Yonao 21-18, 21-15.

Since the end of the Asiad, their condition was not satisfying – they lost to Japan's Yuki Fukushima-Sayaka Hirota in the final of Japan Open, lost to Bulgaria's pair in the quarter-final of China Open, lost to compatriots Du Yue-Li Yinhui in the Round 2 of Denmark Open, and were knocked out at the first round for the France Open.

China's Chen Qingchen (L) and Jia Yifan compete in the Women's Doubles quarterfinals match against Bulgaria's Gabriela Stoeva and Stefani Stoeva on day four of the China Open at Olympic Sports Center Xincheng Gymnasium, Changzhou, China, September 21, 2018. /VCG Photo

"We didn't play well technically and tactically, and our opponents showed their resilience in the match," said Jia, whose smashing quality was somewhat hampered by wrist concern.

"The next step for us is to adjust our mentality firstly," Jia said, as the relatively short-spoken Chen repeats "I just won't believe it!" to encourage themselves to win the champions back.

Li Wenmei and Zheng Yu made a bit redemption for China by edging England's Chloe Birch and Lauren Smith 23-21, 24-22.

Despite a 21-19 first game win over Japanese Takuro Hoki and Wakana Nagahara, the fifth-seeded Chinese mixed pair of Zhang Nan and Li Yinhui conceded the following two games 21-19, 21-14.

He Jiting and Du Yue were forced to retire at 1-1 in the decider against German pair of Marvin Emil Seidel and Linda Efler as Du could not hold on due to her foot injury sustained last week in Denmark.

Lu Kai-Chen Lu fell in front of Thailand's Dechapol Puavaranukroh-Sapsiree Taerattanachai 21-16, 21-15.

China's Lu Kai (L) and Chen Lu compete in the Mixed Doubles first round match against Thailand's Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai on day one of the 2018 French Open at Stade Pierre de Coubertin, Paris, France, October 23, 2018. /VCG Photo

Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping were the only Chinese pair through the mixed doubles first round, as No. 2 seeds breezed past Danes Niclas Nohr and Sara Thygesen 21-11, 21-8 in just 27 minutes.

BWF French Open, the penultimate of five Super 750-level tournaments of the season, will see winners of five events on Sunday.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency