Third-seeded Yang Wei/Zhang Jiewen from China won their first
match of women's doubles to cruise into the quarterfinals at
Beijing International Badminton Tournament on Thursday.
The Athens Olympics gold medalist Yang Wei/Zhang Jiewen beat
their compatriots Fu Shanshan/Li Zhuming in two straight games at
21-6, 21-7 in 21 minutes.
Yang Wei/Zhang Jiewen gave full play to their proficient
cooperation and variation of shots to get a convincing victory 21-6
over their opponent in the first set with ease.
"Their speed was very fast and also had a solid defence which we
couldn't penetrate. Besides, they had very good cooperation
together and had many advantages for us to learn," said Fu
Shanshan.
Under the pressure of the first set's loss, Fu Shanshan/Li
Zhuming made some errors in cooperation and still couldn't find
their pace of the match while Yang Wei/Zhang Jiewen constantly
penetrated the opponent's defense with powerful strikes, fast stabs
and drop shots to take the second set at 21-7.
"The gymnasium here is excellent and once I played in the match
it feels like in Athens. Though we won the match today but I still
couldn't reach the levels when winning gold in 2004. Maybe I need
some time to adjust to my best form," said Zhang Jiewen.
Yang Wei/Zhang Jiewen had beaten Gao Ling/Huang Sui, winning
women's doubles gold at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004.
On Friday, they will play Su Lan/Zhang Zhibo. If everything goes
well, the veteran partner will set up a showcase with Chinese top
seed Zhang Yawen/ Wei Yili in semifinals.
(Xinhua News Agency October 12, 2007)