Japan and Indonesia top their groups at Sudirman Cup
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Paris 2024 Olympics - Badminton - Women's Doubles Bronze Medal Match - Porte de La Chapelle Arena, Paris, France - August 03, 2024. Nami Matsuyama of Japan and Chiharu Shida of Japan celebrate after winning bronze in the match against Pearly Tan of Malaysia and Muralitharan Thinaah of Malaysia. REUTERS/Ann Wang
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XIAMEN, China - Japan's Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida beat Malaysia's Pearly Tan and Thinaah Muralitharan 21-18 18-21 21-18 in the women's doubles to take the country to the top of Group C with a 3-2 victory at the Sudirman Cup on Thursday.
Both teams have already booked their spots in Friday's quarter-finals of the biennial mixed team competition after beating France and Australia earlier this week.
Malaysia’s two-decade wait for a Sudirman Cup win over Japan continues, having last beaten them in 2005, while Japan extended their dominance to nine wins since 1989.
Malaysia's Leong Jun Hao, world number 26, defeated eighth ranked Kodai Naraoka in the men's singles after world number four mixed doubles pair Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei cruised past Japan's Hiroki Midorikawa and Arisa Igarashi.
Japan's Tomoka Miyazaki then breezed past Goh Jin Wei in the women's singles, before Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi levelled with a gruelling 12-21 22-20 23-21 win over Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the men's doubles, setting up the women’s doubles decider.
The day was straightforward for former champions Indonesia as they won four straight matches after dropping the initial mixed doubles tie, sealing a 4-1 win over Denmark to top Group D. Both teams had already qualified for the quarter-finals.
Alwi Farhan, 19, stunned world number three Anders Antonsen 21-17 15-21 21-17 in the men’s singles to level the score, before swift wins in the women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles powered the 1989 champions to a dominant victory.
"I was not very sharp in my attacks and in my execution in the beginning," Antonsen said. "He (Farhan) was better than me. He’s a talented player.
"He's a tricky player, with some disguise and trick shots. We're going to see much more of him in the future."
India and England, already out of the tournament, were playing for pride in the last Group D clash and India got on the board when they took a 3-0 lead before England won the men's and mixed doubles to make it 3-2.
France and Australia had also failed to advance ahead of their last tie against each other and, after it was tied at 1-1, the Europeans won the last three matches for a 4-1 victory.
The quarter-finals get under way on Friday.
QUARTER-FINALS
China v Malaysia
Japan v Taiwan
Thailand v Indonesia
Denmark v South Korea REUTERS
