Roundup: China into Thomas and Uber Cup quarterfinals

China made into both Thomas and Uber Cup quarterfinals with victories on Wednesday.

It took Chinese men' s team more than five hours to take down defending champion Japan 5-0 in the last match of the group stage in Thomas Cup.

World No. 1 Chen Long needed 85 minutes to beat Japanese veteran Sho Sasaki. It was a tough match for Chen, who lost the first set 22-20. Japan defeated China en route to the team' s first ever Thomas Cup two years ago, and Chen' s loss in the first match was considered as a key turning point.

Chen got back to his rhythm in the second set, while Sasaki made too many turnovers, allowing Chen to draw the score 1-1. Chen made full use of his agility and speed in the third set, cruising past his opponent 21-12.

"I was leading in the first half of the opening set, but I was a little nervous," said Chen about the first set.

Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan also spent three sets to get past Japanese duo Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa.

Japan fought hard in the following three matches, but China let go no chance, wrapping up the victory 5-0.

In Wednesday' s other Thomas Cup matches, Denmark edged Chinese Taipei 3-2, New Zealand moved past South Africa 4-1, France swept Mexico 5-0, Indonesia beat India with the same result, Thailand lost to Hong Kong, China 4-1.

In Uber Cup, China kept the perfect record as the team breezed over Denmark 5-0 without losing a single set. In the last group match, Denmark sent out several young players to give key players enough time for rest, and China turned out to have a much stronger squad. China made into last eight with a 15-0 record.

In other matches, Malaysia defeated Spain 3-2, U.S. got over Mauritius 5-0, Japan edged India 3-2, South Korea beat Chinese Taipei 4-1, Germany outscored Australia 4-1. Endit