Chinese Mixed Doubles Pair Advances into Quarterfinals

He Hanbin and Yu Yang from China made into the quarterfinals of Beijing Olympic badminton tournament by beating British veterans Anthony Clark and Donna Kellogg on Tuesday.

The Olympic rookies, seeded No.4 in the tournament, didn't show any nervousness on their debut at the Olympic Games, exceeding their rivals in overall performance and securing their victory in 40 minutes at 21-15, 21-8.

Yu Yang, who crushed Japanese pair Kumiko Ogura and Reiko Shiota on Monday with her partner Du Jing, attributed their victory to confidence, cool mind and aggressiveness.

"I'm satisfied with my form, and I hope it could be consistent in coming matches," said the 22-year-old, adding that she didn't feel tired for competing in two events.

The British veterans, currently ranked at No.7, heaped their compliments on the young Chinese pair.

"They were so quick and so aggressive, and not nervous at all," said 30-year-old Clark. "They are phenominal."

In other matches of mixed doubles, top seeds Nova Widianto and Liliyana Natsir beat Han Sang Hoon and Hwang Yu Mi from South Korea 23-21, 21-19. Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thoungthongkam from Thailand and Robert Mateusiak and Nadiezda Kostiuczyk from Poland also advanced into quarterfinals.

(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2008)

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