Chen Yufei of China hits a return to Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia during a women's singles Group A match at the BWF World Tour Finals 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand, Dec. 7, 2022. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)
China's Olympic champion Chen Yufei suffered a surprsing loss to Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in her opening match at the BWF World Tour Finals. Her teammate He Bingjiao beat former world No.1 Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei in the other women's singles group.
BANGKOK, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Top women's singles seed and Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yufei of China suffered a major setback here on Wednesday, losing her opening match of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour Finals.
In a three-set battle, Chen lost 21-9, 14-21, 21-16 to Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, who only made it to the Finals following the withdrawal of India's world No. 6 Pusarla V. Sindhu.
"It was the first match so I was still unfamiliar with the stadium, especially the wind and I had a slow start," said Chen after the match.
The upset means Chen is facing a daunting challenge to qualify for the semifinals as her two remaining opponents in the group stage are the top two world ranking players - Japan's Akane Yamaguchi and South Korea's An Se-young.
He Bingjiao of China hits a return to Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei during the women's singles Group B match at the BWF World Tour Finals 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand, Dec. 7, 2022. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)
In the other women's singles group, Chen's teammate He Bingjiao defeated Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in straight sets 21-19, 21-19.
Another setback for China on Wednesday came from the mixed doubles when Tokyo Olympic gold medalists Wang Yi Lyu/Huang Dongping went down against Malaysian duo Tan Kian Meng/Lai Pei Jing 23-21, 14-21, 21-16. Their compatriots Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong, the reigning world champions, strolled past Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue of France 21-8, 21-9.
The only Chinese shuttler in the men's singles Lu Guangzu was no match against world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark, losing 21-13, 21-11, but China's men's doubles pair Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi had a good start for the tournament by defeating Kim Astrup/Andres Skaarup Rassmusen of Denmark 21-11, 21-19.
Zhang Shuxian (R)/Zheng Yu of China compete against Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan of China during the women's doubles Group B match at the BWF World Tour Finals 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand, Dec. 7, 2022. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)
In women's doubles, the two Chinese pairs were drawn into the same group where world No. 1 Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan beat Zhang Shuxian/Zheng Yu 21-18, 17-21, 21-14.
The by-invitation finals feature the top eight players and pairs on the BWF World Tour rankings, with a maximum of two players or pairs per Member Association eligible. Players of each individual event are drawn into two groups where the top two of each group qualify for the semifinals. ■