NANNING, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Top-seed Japan, who defeated Russia 3-2 and edged Thailand 4-1 during group stage, swept Malaysia 3-0 to qualify for the last four of the ongoing Sudirman Cup here on Friday afternoon.
The opening men's doubles was the only match with some suspension as Malaysian pair Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi, the runners-up at Malaysia Masters 2019, played all out to take the first game before conceding the next two to the 2nd-ranked Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda 13-21, 26-24, 23-21 after one hour and 35 minutes.
Then both the women's and men's singles became the sure bet for Japan as the 2nd-ranked Nozomi Okuhara extended its lead to 2-0 with an easy win over Soniia Cheah 21-16, 21-13 in the women's singles, and world's No. 1 Kento Momota sealed the victory in the men's singles by defeating the 21st-ranked Lee Zii Jia 21-18, 21-16.
For the semifinals on Saturday, Japan who never won the Cup before, will meet the winner between Chinese Taipei and Indonesia, who were still playing their decisive fifth match, while China takes on Thailand, hoping for a record 11th title from the biennial tournament which was initiated in 1989.
