The Uber Cup loss turned up to be a valuable lesson for the Chinese team, said Chinese badminton head coach Li Yongbo after his team strided into the team final at the Asian Games here on Sunday.

Defending champions China defeated South Korea 3-0 in the women's team semifinal, avenging their final loss in the Uber Cup in May that stopped China from lifting the trophy for the seventh time running.

"It has been some time since China suffered a defeat until the Uber Cup where the players came to realized that no team is unbeatable," said Li.

"Our defeat at the Uber Cup and win at the Asian Games told us that you should be fully prepared at any time," said Li. "Last time we took the South Koreans too lightly and paid a price for it.

In Sunday's semifinals, currently world number one Wang Xin eased past Bae Yeonju 21-17, 21-12 in the first singles before new pair Wang Xiaoli/Yu Yang got the better of Lee Kyungwon/Ha Jungeun, winning 21-12, 21-19 and Wang Shixian overcame Bae Seunghee 21-18, 18-21, 21-14.

Wang Xin admitted that she felt both pressure and motivation prior to the match.

"It was not only pressure but also motivation. I was not very stressed. My coach and teammates were very supportive," said Wang who was the only victorious one in China's 3-1 defeat by South Korea in the Uber Cup final.

There were some changes in the Chinese line-up compared to that in the Uber Cup as 20-year-old Wang Shixian replaced former world number Wang Yihan and a new pair of Yu Yang/ Wang Xiaoli showed up in the first doubles in stead of Ma Jin/Wang Xiaoli.

It took Wang Shixian a little while longer than her teammates to seal the win when she faced the more experienced Bae, 27.

"Wang Shixian's victory was not that easy as her teammates but that was understandable since Bae Seunghee was a very strong opponent who defeated Wang Yihan at the Uber Cup final," said Li.

For the Chinese team, the victory is more than something to get back at their opponents but a process that the young players to learn in their build-up for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

"Asian Games is a place where the players collect experience. Most of the time China's only enemy is ourselves. Only when the players find the right mindset and do their best, do they have a good chance to win," added Li.

(Xinhua News Agency November 15, 2010)