Roundup: Axelsen, Yamaguchi reach third round at badminton worlds
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E-mail Xinhua, August 23, 2022
TOKYO, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Top-seeded Viktor Axelsen cruised to the third round of the men's singles at the World Badminton Championships on Tuesday, while reigning champion Akane Yamaguchi won her first match to start the title defense on home court.
Denmark's Axelsen scored five straight points to take the first set 21-19 when trailing 19-16, and won the second set 21-10 to eliminate Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands.
Axelsen has lost only one match on tour this season, and the Tokyo Olympic champion is considered the favorite for the tournament after returning to his "blessed land".
"I'm really happy that I managed to turn it around, it's good to be in the third round and I'm really looking forward to it," said Axelsen.
China's Shi Yuqi, who returned to action at the tournament after a 10-month suspension, took 46 minutes to down Rasmus Gemke of Denmark 21-13, 21-16 and reach the last 16.
The 2018 worlds finalist rated his performance "7 out of 10", one point more than his first-round show.
"I played much better than the first match, although this is still a long way from my best badminton," he said.
On the women's side, Yamaguchi, who enjoyed a bye in the opening round, defeated Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 21-12, 21-15, and will face compatriot Sayaka Takahashi next round.
This match is seen as revenge after Yamaguchi lost to Tunjung in the quarterfinals of the Malaysia Masters last month.
"I never felt that I had any breathing space until toward the end of the second game. It was more about dealing with my opponent than me going on the attack," the local favorite said.
Chinese players He Bingjiao and Wang Zhiyi, who had both received byes into the second round, won their first matches in the tournament.
Ninth-seeded He defeated American Iris Wang 21-13, 21-7 and will face Spanish three-time world champion Carolina Marin, who eliminated Canadian Zhang Wenyu 21-16, 21-14.
11th seed Wang advanced with a victory over Denmark's Line Christophersen 21-15, 21-14, and her next opponent will be compatriot Han Yue. Enditem
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