NANNING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong, China became the first team to be stopped from the quarterfinals of the ongoing 2019 Sudirman Cup following a 4-1 defeat against defending champion South Korea here on Monday evening.
Against a dire fact that both 6th-ranked Son Wan-ho and 10th-ranked Sung Ji-hyun, South Korea's respective top seed in the men's and women's singles, the 2017 champion still won the encounter without any suspension against Hong Kong, China who lost their Group 1C opener against Chinese Taipei on Sunday.
In the opening mixed doubles, the 7th-ranked Chae Yu-jung and Seo Seung-jae beat Ng Tsz Yau and Tang Chun Man 21-11, 21-16, and South Korea ran to a 2-0 lead after the women's singles match, which was won by the 17-year-old An Se-young. An who triumphed over former Olympic champion Li Xuerui in the 2019 New Zealand Open, took an easy victory over Cheung Ngan Yi 21-8, 21-12.
"Compared to other shuttlers, I may be younger. But I am confident to cope with everything in the match, and I look forward to participating in the Tokyo Olympic Games and will work even harder for it," said An.
However, the winning streak for South Korea was stopped in the men's singles as Ng Ka Long Angus, the winner of Hong Kong Open 2016, beat Heo Kwang-hee, who won the 2013 World Junior Championships 21-19, 17-21 and 21-16 after 68 minutes.
South Korea gave no hopes to its rivals in the following doubles matches. Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong beat Ng Tsz Yau and Yuen Sin Ying 21-4, 21-12 in the women's doubles, while Kang Min-hyuk and Kim Won-ho triumphed over Or Chin Chung and Tang Chun Man 22-20, 21-12 in the men's doubles.
After two-day action, South Korea and Chinese Taipei are through to the quarterfinals and will play against each other on Wednesday to decide the winner of their group.
