SEA Games: Luo Jianyou Reaches Quarterfinals in Badminton Doubles

The single badminton event of the Thailand SEA Games started on Thursday (December 11). my country’s number one men’s singles Luo Jianyou and number one mixed doubles pair Xu Yongkai/Jin Yujia successfully advanced to the quarterfinals.

Kunlavut, the host’s darling ranked third in the world, has not fully recovered from wisdom tooth surgery and has given up singles competition in order to prepare for the Badminton World Tour Finals on December 17. Luo Jianyou, ranked 10th in the world, has taken advantage of the opportunity to rise to the top seed position in the men’s singles of this SEA Games.

In the first round, he faced the Filipino player Albo, ranked 214th in the world. He thought he would pass easily, but he unexpectedly faced a tough battle. He struggled to catch up after 3-3 in the first game, falling behind his opponent by six points several times. Fortunately, he stabilized his position in time and fought hard to catch up, finally winning the first game 21-17.

The battle between the two sides was still stalemate in the second game. After the battle reached 19-19, the Chinese feather team seized the opportunity to score two points in a row to lock in the qualification for the semi-finals.

Luo Jianyou, who struggled to defeat his opponent, said in an interview with Lianhe Zaobao: “I don’t know the ranking of my opponent, but I am ready to face a tough battle. All the men’s singles players are very strong, and I will not take any game lightly.”

Further reading

[SEA Games]my country’s badminton men’s team lost to the previous champion Indonesia 1-3 and won the bronze medal

[SEA Games]Winning the badminton rematch secures the bronze medal and the Singapore men’s and women’s teams strive to qualify for the finals

The quarter-finals will then be played on Friday (12th). Luo Jianyou’s opponent is the 48th-ranked Indonesian player Ubaidila.

Xu Yongkai/Jin Yujia will face the gold medal team of the World Championships in Malaysia

Before Luo Jianyou, Xu Yongkai/Jin Yujia had taken the lead to break through. The two defeated the first-time and higher-ranked Indonesian combination Amri Sanawi/Nita Mawar 21-18, 21-14. The next eight will challenge Malaysia’s top seeds and current World Championship gold medalists Chen Tangjie/To Yiwei.

Jin Yujia said in an interview: “Of course we are happy to win today’s game, but while celebrating the victory, we also know how difficult the challenge will be tomorrow.”

After another male player, Gao Yongjie, failed in the first round of the mixed doubles with Lee Jung-yeon in the morning, he teamed up with Kubo Chunyu in the men’s doubles in the evening and received good news. He defeated the Philippine pair Bernardo/Morada 21-10 in both games; on Friday, he will compete with the Indonesian pair Canando/Maulana to qualify for the semi-finals.

No. 2 men’s singles Zheng Jiaheng was reversed and eliminated

Except for Luo Jianyou, my country’s other three singles players all lost to Malaysian players. Women’s singles Xu Yuxin fell behind throughout the first game, but even though her condition improved significantly in the second game, she ultimately lost to Malaysia’s Lesana 17-21, 20-22. Noor Insriya also lost to Huang Lingqing 15-21, 16-21.

Men’s singles Zheng Jiaheng, listed as the third seed, once had a huge advantage of 19-7 in the first game, but was reversed by He Shouwei 22-20. He was completely passive in the second game and was ultimately eliminated 15-21.

Zheng Jiaheng blamed himself very much after losing key points in the team competition and vowed to go all out in the singles competition, but unfortunately it backfired. He said in an interview: “I felt that I played too hastily in the first game when my opponent was chasing points. I was anxious to win the first game to build confidence and get into the rhythm of the game.”

“I’m disappointed now but there’s nothing else I can do but move on.”