Smooth going for top seeds
Yamaguchi, Axelsen pass tests in Tokyo but admit there is plenty of room to improve
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TOKYO • Reigning women's champion and top seed Akane Yamaguchi yesterday cruised through her opening game at the Badminton World Championships, while men's No. 1 Viktor Axelsen also continued his smooth progress.
Home favourite Yamaguchi beat Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 21-12, 21-15 to kick off her hunt for a second straight world title. "I wasn't really nervous but you do get players who lose in the first round and go straight out, so I was really focused on getting the result," said the 25-year-old.
"I never felt that I had any breathing space until towards the end of the second game. It was more about dealing with my opponent than me going on the attack."
Spain's Carolina Marin, who is aiming to win a record fourth world title, got her campaign off to a steady start with a 21-16, 21-14 win over Canada's Zhang Wen Yu.
Former world No. 1 Marin endured a horror 2021, missing both the Tokyo Olympics and the world championships in her hometown of Huelva after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
The world No. 5 returned to action in April but yesterday admitted she was "not 100 per cent yet".
"This is the condition I have right now and I have to play in this condition," she said. "Let's see how far I can go in this tournament. Of course, I want to get a medal. I want to win, but this is not something I have in my mind."
There were also first-round wins for South Korean third seed An Se-young - 21-18, 21-10 over Vietnam's Thuy Linh Nguyen - and India's Saina Nehwal, who beat Hong Kong's Cheung Ngan Yi 21-19, 21-9.
On the men's side, Axelsen was pushed hard in the first game of his second-round match against Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands before hitting his stride in a 21-19, 21-10 win. The Dane has lost only one match on tour this season and he was again ruthless in putting away his opponent.
"Mark played really well in the first game and made it really hard for me, especially on that far side where the drift is a little bit hard to deal with," he said. "I'm really happy I managed to turn it around, it's good to be in the third round. I'm really looking forward to it."
China's Shi Yuqi, who is making his competitive return in Tokyo after a 10-month ban imposed by the Chinese Badminton Association, continued his comeback with a 21-13, 21-16 second-round win over Denmark's Rasmus Gemke.
"I'm just taking it one step at a time but I'm hoping to get to the final and win the title," he said.
Singapore's top women's doubles pair, world No. 80 Jin Yujia and Crystal Wong advanced to the second round after beating Austria's 107th-ranked Serena Au Yeong and Katharina Hochmeir 21-12, 21-7. They next face Japan's world No. 2 Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota, who received a first-round bye.
Other Singaporeans who will feature in the second round today are defending men's singles champion Loh Kean Yew, Commonwealth Games mixed doubles champions Terry Hee and Jessica Tan, and the men's doubles pair of Loh Kean Hean and Hee.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's participation ended after Maria Ulitina lost to Slovakia's Martina Repiska 21-16, 12-21, 21-17 yesterday.
The world No. 58 revealed she has been living in exile in Hungary for the past six months after Russia invaded her country in February.
"I don't want to complain about it but mentally, it's really hard when you don't have a home and you don't know where you will live tomorrow," she added. "It's hard mentally, financially."
Russian shuttlers have been barred from the tour since the conflict broke out and Ulitina was disappointed her fellow players had not bothered to check in on her.
She said: "I used to have friends there but since the war started, no one even writes or asks anything, how we are or if they're sorry about it, nothing. This is really disappointing."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
