China sweeps Indonesia to reach quarters at Sudirman Cup

KUALA LUMPUR - Defending champion China beat Indonesia 5-0 in their second and last group match on Tuesday at the 13th Sudirman Cup team badminton tournament.

Cai Yun, left, and Fu Haifeng of China compete against Hendra Setiawan and Angga Pratama of Indonesia during their men's doubles badminton match at the Sudirman Cup world team badminton championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 21, 2013. The China couple won 16-21, 21-15, 21-15. [Photo/icpress.cn]

London Olympics champion Cai Yun/Fu Haifeng replaced their young fellows Liu Xiaolong/Qiu Zihan to play against Hendra Setiawan/Angga Pratama.

The Indoneisa pair took the first game 21-16 but still could not handle the Olympic champions who barely played matches after the Olympics. Cai Yun/Fu Haifeng won the second and the third games at 21-15, 21-15.

"We haven't played international games for almost four or five months," said Cai. "We haven't reached our best form yet."

"Today's match is just normal. We only took recovery practices after the Olympics," added Fu.

Li Xuerui of China hits a return against Yuswandari Aprilia of Indonesia during their match at the 2013 Sudirman Cup world team badminton championships in Kuala Lumpur, on May 21, 2013. [Photo/icpress.cn]

Li Xuerui made her Sudirman Cup debut in women's singles, playing against Aprilia Yuswandari. But the world No 22 caused the London Olympics winner trouble in the first game by winning it 21-13. Li took control of the second game and came from behind to beat Yuswandari 13-21, 21-4 and 21-11.

"I was upset with myself," said Li. "I didn't make my adjustments in time. Though I won the match, I don't think I'doing well today."

Chen Long secured China's victory by beating Tommy Sugiarto in two straight games, winning at 21-17, 21-11.

Yu Yang/Wang Xiaoli and Xu Chen/Ma Jin both defeated their opponents 2-0 in women's doubles and mixed doubles. China topped the Group A to reach the quarterfinals.

"I think all Chinese players had a better performance than they had in Sunday's matches," said Li Yongbo, head coach of the Chinese team.

Cheng Long of China hits a return against Sugiarto Tommy of Indonesia during their match at the 2013 Sudirman Cup world team badminton championships in Kuala Lumpur, on May 21, 2013. [Photo/icpress.cn]

The fixtures of the quarterfinals at the 13th Sudirman Cup team badminton championships:

China vs Indonesia

Chinese Taipei vs Denmark

Germany vs South Korea

Thailand vs Japan