Tokyo Olympic champion Chen Yufei began her fifth World Championships with a strong start as the third seed overcame Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei in straight games on Tuesday, setting her sights on her maiden world title.

Chen Yufei of China hits a return during the women's singles round of 32 match against Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei at the BWF World Championships 2023 in Copenhagen, Denmark, Aug. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

Last year in Tokyo, the 25-year-old reached the world championships final but was defeated by Japanese standout Akane Yamaguchi.

In her fifth clash against Pai, and their third in 2023, Chen took control from the beginning, achieving a swift 21-14, 21-13 victory in just 34 minutes against the 32-year-old veteran.

"We have played several times recently, so I could have a good preparation before the match since we know each other very well. I did well in reducing the errors which helped me win the match," Chen said.

Chen's Chinese compatriots He Bingjiao and Wang Zhiyi also marked their advancement to the round of 16. The fifth-seeded He made a comeback against Putri Kusuma Wardani, finishing 18-21, 21-19, 21-17. Tenth-seeded Wang Zhiyi moved past Germany's Yvonne Li with a 21-18, 21-11 scoreline.

The contest between ex-champions P.V. Sindhu and Nozomi Okuhara was a major highlight. Both were finalists in the 2017 and 2019 editions, each securing one title. This time, Okuhara, after trailing 0-9 in the second game, came back to win the match 21-14, 21-14, advancing to round three.

"I feel much better today," said Okuhara, who skipped the previous World Championships due to a right femoral stress fracture. "I wasn't nervous at all. It was just myself challenging a good opponent. It was difficult getting back when I was 0-9 down, but once I reached 11, I was able to regain my confidence."

In the men's singles, China's sixth seed Li Shifeng handily defeated Malaysia's world No. 34 Kantaphon Wangcharoen 21-10, 21-12. The 23-year-old, a victor in the All-England Open, took just 44 minutes to secure his revenge for a defeat at last year's Japan Open.

"Last time against him, I played very aggressively but lacked changes (in tactics) on the court. You cannot win the match if you only attack and attack. This time, I've learned lessons from that defeat and tried to play with more patience," Li said.

Li, having won the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, has had a commendable year with two BWF Tour titles and two second-place finishes. He next faces Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei, who won against China's Lu Guangzu 21-16, 18-21, 21-19.

Wang, 28, had beaten Lu at the same stage in Tokyo the previous year before succumbing to Indonesia's Jonatan Christie in the quarterfinals.

Local top seed Viktor Axelsen continued his dominant performance, allowing French challenger Christo Popov only 14 points in their encounter, decisively moving to round three with scores of 21-6, 21-8 in just 30 minutes.

In the mixed doubles, top seeds Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong, along with two other Chinese duos, started with victories. In men's doubles, Ren Xiangyu/Tan Qiang also secured a win. 

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