WORLDS 2013 Day 1 – Du needs 3 to send 4 to 2nd round

The Wang Lao Ji BWF World Badminton Championships started well for China as three men’s singles players won handily and Du Pengyu held on to beat Son Wan Ho and make it four into the round of 32.

By Don Hearn, Badzine Correspondent live in Guangzhou.  Photos: Badmintonphoto (live)

Neither Lin Dan nor Chen Long allowed his opponent to get into double digits as both men cruised to easy first-round victories at the World Championships at Tianhe Gymnasium in Guangzhou.  Wang Zhengming took a little more time against Belgium’s Yuhan Tan but still had a comfortable margin in his straight-game victory.

Asian champion and third seed Du Pengyu was the first Chinese athlete to take to the courts at these championships and it seemed to delight the crowd that his opponent, Korea’s Son Wan Ho, again gave Du a run for his money.

Son started strong in each of the first two games, but after he let Du run away with the first, he stood his ground in the second, watching Du’s movement closely and picking his spots for most of the game.  The Korean finally came alive for the last 3 points and unleashed his power game to even the match at a game apiece, only to be dominated in the third by a hungry Du Pengyu.

“I know Du Pengyu’s game well.  He is very fit and his defense is excellent.  If I come out and try to beat him by attacking him, I will likely tire myself out and find it tough going so I try more to move him around and make him run more and wait for my chances.”

Son, of course, has played only one international tournament since the London Olympics but he confirmed that the shin injury that plagued him after the Olympics has healed.   The major interruption was his military basic training in the winter but after he returned to the national team this spring, his ranking kept him on the reserve list and out of the June Superseries events.  Despite this, Son said he felt ready coming to competition in Guangzhou.

“Well, I certainly had time to rest in the last year but also time to train,” said Son Wan Ho.  “Even if I was just in the training centre and not in tournaments, I certainly felt prepared in terms of fitness.

“However, I did find that being away from competition for so long, the tournament atmosphere took some getting used to again and I was a little nervous.  I wasn’t at the level I thought I would be or that I needed to be at.”

In fact, China was unbeaten on the day as Tao/Tang, one of only a handful of unseeded entries among China’s legions of participants in Guangzhou, won a quick match against Tan/Lai of Malaysia.

Click here for complete Day 1 results