HK reach quarter-finals
Hong Kong finished top of their group and booked a berth in the quarter-finals of the Uber Cup in Sendai, Japan, yesterday.
The SAR team scored their second victory in group X when they defeated England 3-2 in their final match. They also beat the Netherlands by the same score in their opening encounter. The two losers will meet today to decide their final position in the group before moving into the knockout stage.
'The results came as a bit of a surprise as all three teams are very close in the group. But we all played well and deserved the eventual victory,' said Hong Kong coach Chan Chi-choi.
Hong Kong will now meet the winners of the match between the second-placed team in group Y and the third-placed team in group Z when the knockout stage starts in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Should Hong Kong win in the quarters, they are likely to meet the all-conquering, defending champions China in the next stage in the upper half of the draw.
'That's why people say the Netherlands, one of the pre-tournament favourites, are going for second place in their group because they will then be placed in the lower half of the draw and will only meet China in the final if they go through all the way,' Chan said.
'But we do not care about that. We will just approach the event match by match and see how far we can go. The players are in fine form, although Wang Chen and Yip Pui-yin are both carrying some minor injuries.'
Headed by world number one and Olympic champion Zhang Ning, reigning All England champion Xie Xinfang and Olympic doubles champion Gao Ling and Huang Sui, the Chinese women are definitely the side to beat in this 12-team tournament representing the highest level of team competition in the world.
Wang, the world number three, gave Hong Kong a perfect start when she easily trounced Julia Mann 2-0 in the opening match, while Yip continued the momentum with another straight games win over Jill Pittard in the following match.
The England team then pulled one back to make it 2-1 overall when Joanne Nicholas and Natalie Munt defeated Chau Hoi-wah and Lousia Koon Wai-chee 2-0 in the doubles.
But Hong Kong sealed victory through Wong Sin-yee in the third singles with a 2-0 win over Elizabeth Cann. With the match already decided, Wang and Yip gave a walkover in the final doubles.
