DEFENDING champions China and arch rivals Indonesia and Malaysia duly booked their semi-final places in the Seiko Asian Championships when they won their second successive group matches at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium last night.
China and Malaysia lived up to their seedings in Group A by crushing Japan and Hongkong respectively while in Group B Indonesia stayed on course for a tilt at the title with a 5-0 thrashing of Taiwan.
The Chinese, bidding for their third straight team crown, showed they are ready to take on any challengers, breezing past Japan without dropping a game.
Number one Wu Wenkai was rested and Liu Jun, the 1992 All-England singles champion, was hardly stretched as he demolished Kazuhiro Shimogami 15-7, 15-2 to give China the opening rubber.
But Chen Kang and Chen Hongyong were given a scare by Japan's Koji Miya and Fumihiko Machida in the first game of their doubles clash before emerging 15-12, 15-8 victors.
Up-and-coming young Chinese player Wan Zhangwen quickly sealed the tie, despite playing at half pace, dropping only seven points as he disposed of Hideaki Motoyama in less than 20 minutes.