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China shocked by South Korea, suffering first absence of Thomas Cup's semis

Xinhua, May 20, 2016 Adjust font size:

South Korea beat China 3-1 in the quarter-finals of the 2016 Thomas Cup, sinking the host's hope to regain the title they lost two year ago.

It is the first time for China being eliminated in the last 8 since they participated this tournament in 1982.

Top-ranked Chen long lost to Sun Wan Ho 21-12,16-21,21-15 in the first singles, suffering the same nightmare two year ago in Incheon where China were defeated 3-2 by South Korea in the team final.

"I think I was impatient tonight specially in attack. I had a good start in the decider, but after that I lost my rhythm due to impatience." said Chen.

Fu Haifeng/Zhang Nan had a chance to tie the match for China, but world No.1 Lee Yong Dae/Yoo Yeon Seong won 23-25, 23-21, 21-12 to give South Korea a 2-0 lead.

Lin Dan, the two time Olympic champion, rescued China by outplaying Lee Dong Keun 21-10, 21-15 in the third match. However, South Korea qualified for semis through Kim Gi Jung/Kim Sa Rang's 21-15, 21-18 victory over Li Junhui and Zheng Siwei in a 32-minute game.

Thanks to strong singles performances from Victor Axelsen and Hans-Kristian Vittinghus, eight-time runner-up Denmark reached the Thomas Cup semis by edging defending champion Japan 3-2.

In the early matches, Lee Chong Wei led Malaysia, which is seeking to end their 24-year drought at the world team championships, to a 3-1 cruising past Chinese Taipei.

Friday will see Malaysia play against Denmark and South Korea face up Indonesia, which beat Hong Kong, China 3-1.

In the women's Uber Cup, unbeaten China recorded a convincing 3-0 victory against Chinese Taipei. Japan booked its semifinal place with a 3-0 rout of Denmark while India scored a 3-1 win over Thailand.

Defending champion China will meet India in the semifinal as South Korea will challenge the 2014 runner-up Japan. Endit