Chi beat Japan in Thomas Cup

KUNSHAN, May 19: Chi easily beat defending champion Japan 5-0 in their fil Group A badminton match on Wednesday, while Denmark, looking for its maiden Thomas Cup title, won Group D with a 3-2 victory against Taiwan.

Japan felt the absence of Kento Momota as Chi, which had already qualified for the quarterfils, topped its group with its third successive victory, which included wins by Lin Dan and Chen Long.

For Denmark, Viktor Axelsen breezed past Chou Tien Chen 21-16, 21-13 before Mads Conrad-Petersen paired with Mads Pieler Kolding to beat Lee Sheng Mu and Tsai Chia Hsin 22-20, 21-9 and give a 2-0 lead to already qualified Denmark.

Taiwan, which finished second in the group and also qualified for the quarterfils, pulled one back through Hsu Jen Hao's 13-21, 21-16, 21-19 victory over Jan O Jorgensen in a marathon match which lasted 79 minutes.

Mathias Boe and Mathias Christiansen then earned Denmark a decisive 3-1 lead when they beat Wang Chi-Lin and Chen Hung Ling 21-17, 19-21, 21-17.

Wang Tzu Wei reduced the margin for Taiwan, beating Hans Kristian Vittinghus in a thrilling 21-13, 19-21, 25-23 win.

New Zealand, already out of the quarterfil race from Group D, got a consolation win when it beat South Africa 4-1 in its last group match. IANS