Taiwan’s top badminton player Cheng Shao-chieh advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s singles at the World Badminton Championships in London on Thursday after most of her fellow Taiwanese were sent packing.
The seventh-seeded Cheng set up a clash with world No. 1 Wang Shixian of China after topping Spanish teen sensation Carolina Marin 21-18, 21-17. Cheng trailed the 18-year-old in both sets, before overcoming her opponent in 41 minutes.
Cheng has beaten Wang once in three meeting, subduing the world No. 1 in straight sets at a Super Series event in Indonesia in late June.
The only other Taiwanese competitors still competing in the tournament were the mixed doubles duo of Chen Hung-ling and Cheng Wen-hsing.
The seventh seeds defeated 2009 world champions Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Huhl of Denmark 21-15, 22-20, 21-19 in 58 minutes to progress to the quarter-finals, where they will face top-seeded Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei of China.
Four other Taiwanese double teams were eliminated from the tournament in the round of 16 on Thursday.
In mixed doubles, Fang Chieh-min and Wang Pei-rong were easily defeated by the sixth-seeded Chinese duo Xu Chen Xu and Ma Jin 21-9, 21-8, while the 11th-seeded Lee Sheng-mu and Chien Yu-chin lost to the second-seeded Indonesian duo of Tantowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir 21-9, 21-12.
In men’s doubles, Chen Hung-ling and Lin Yu-lang fell to Kien Keat Koo and Boon Heong Tan of Malaysia 21-13, 21-14, while the 10th-seeded Fang and Lee were upset by unseeded Hong Wei and Shen Ye of China 18-21, 21-17, 21-15.
On Wednesday, Taiwan lost one of their best chances at a top finish when the second-seeded Chien Yu-chin and Cheng Wen-hsing were stunned by unseeded Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa of India 21-18, 21-18.