Zheng Siwei (L) and Huang Yaqiong of China compete during their mixed doubles quarterfinal win over Indonesia at Tokyo 2020 on July 28, 2021. (Xinhua/Guo Chen)
TOKYO, July 28 (Xinhua) -- China's top-seeded duo of Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong eased into the Tokyo 2020 mixed doubles badminton semifinals here on Wednesday, after beating world No.4 Praveen Jordan and Melati Daeva Oktavianti of Indonesia 2-0.
World No.1 Zheng and Huang kicked off with an overwhelming start, taking a 21-17 lead. The powerful duo continued to dominate in the second, snatching a 21-15 win with ease.
Two years ago at the French Open, Zheng and Huang were challenged by the Indonesian pair and lost the finals 2-1.
"We have made sufficient preparations in terms of targeted tactics against them, but on the other hand they might not be in their best condition due to the pandemic and made some mistakes on court, which offered us chances to win," Zheng said.
Huang Yaqiong (R) of China returns the shuttlecock during the victory over Indonesia. (Xinhua/Li Yibo)
Huang also noted that they had fully prepared for some of the worst scenarios beforehand, including falling behind in the second set after a loss in the opening game, or Jordan scoring consecutive points on serve.
"When we took the lead at 14-6, Jordan served to earn several points in a row. This was one of the difficulties that we had prepared for. At that moment we didn't panic and tried to mobilize ourselves better to strive for each point," Huang added.
"We had anticipated their advantage with Jordan's serves, so when they were catching up with us, we still had the belief that we could take the game," Zheng echoed.
The Badminton mixed doubles semifinals will start on Thursday at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, with the gold medal match taking place on Friday.
