WORLDS 2013 R32 – Ueda into 3rd round of his 1st Worlds

Day 3 of the Wang Lao Ji BWF World Badminton Championships with a string of successes for the Japanese team, including a tough win against Viktor Axelsen by Takuma Ueda (pictured).

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

Takuma Ueda started off proceedings in the men’s singles second round with a victory over French Open runner-up Viktor Axelsen (pictured below).  The win came as good news for the Japanese team as they already lost their top player Tago Kenichi to injury on the eve of the World Championships and veteran Sho Sasaki is slated to play second seed Chen Long later today.

Ueda scraped by in the first game 24-22 but in the second, with excellent defense and court coverage and some clever smashes to Axelsen’s body, the 24-year-old Japanese shuttler built up a 17-12 lead.  The Dane narrowed the gap to a single point but a final push by Ueda sent him to the Round of 16.

“My only real strategy today was to be careful with my lifts and clears,” said Ueda after his victory.  “Because he is so tall, I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t lifting too low and giving him attacking chances.”

In already unfamiliar territory, playing in his first World Badminton Championship, tomorrow could see Takuma Ueda as the sole flag-bearer for Japan in men’s singles.  That is, unless Sho Sasaki can find a way to beat the mighty Chen Long in spite of a home court advantage.

“It doesn’t really matter to me whether Sho Sasaki wins tomorrow or not,” said Ueda.  “I will play the same regardless of whether I am the only Japanese player.”

Takuma Ueda actually attended the same high school as Kenichi Tago and has been slowly making a name for himself over the past few years.  Asked whether he felt at all as if he were carrying a mantle for his friend at these Wsorld Championships, Takuma said, “Maybe a little bit.”

What matters most to Ueda, of course, is his next task at hand, which will likely be a third round match against world #3 Du Pengyu, whom he took to 3 games at last autumn’s China Masters in Changzhou.

“I have to prepare myself for a longer match tomorrow, and that means it will be very important to concentrate and to not lose my focus.”

In other men’s singles action on Wednesday morning, Boonsak Ponsana (pictured) struggled through three games against Sweden’s Henri Hurskainen but came away with the victory.  As for Japan, they found success in their first four matches as Miyuki Maeda / Satoko Suetsuna outlasted Germany’s Johanna Goliszewski / Birgit Michels, beating them 21-15, 11-21, 21-13 in 70 minutes.  Endo/Hayakawa also survived a close second game to win in straight games over England’s Langridge/Mills.

Click here for complete Round of 32 results