CHINA'S Bao Chunlai yesterday made the most of his superior racket speed to book a place in the last 16 of the world badminton championships with a 21-13 21-14 victory over Juergen Koch of Austria.
Bao, a quarter-finalist at last year's world championships in Anaheim and winner of last month's Korean Open, was pushed hard early in each game, but used his lightning reactions to overpower his opponent.
Malaysia's Muhamad Hafiz Hashim, who like Bao is seeded joint fifth, eased his way into the next round with a 21-8 21-10 win over Michal Matejka of Slovakia.
In the women singles, England's Tracey Hallam blasted past Ella Karachkova, winning the first 10 points in the opening game on her way to a 21-9 21-8 win over the Russian.
“I was very surprised,'' she said. “I had expected a very tough match as our previous encounters have all been very close. I was very pleased at how I played.''
Hallam will play Thailand's Monthila Meemek, who made the last 16 with a walkover victory over knee injury victim Yao Jie of the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, world champion Taufik Hidayat began the defence of his title with a solid win and a message to the game's governing body to update itself and use cameras to eliminate line controversies.
“It's time the game became more professional about that,'' the Indonesian said after his 21-17 21-17 first-round win over Ng Wei of Hong Kong. Reuters
(source: BruneiTimes)