China’s Lu Guangzu sprang a big surprise in the World Badminton Championships when he beat Taiwan fourth-seed Chou Tien-Chen in three sets to book his place in the last 16. Lu’s fought back in the second round of the men’s singles after losing the first set 21-14, winning the second set 21-15 to level the tie and then repeated that 21-15 score in the decisive third set on Tuesday night. Hong Kong’s top mixed doubles pair, Tang Chun-man and Tse Ying-suet, who have enjoyed strong performances in recent months, will feature in their second round match against Adam Hall and Julie MacPherson, of Scotland, on Wednesday. “Chou is a very tough player,” Lu said. “All I can do is to fight every point, so I tried to keep the rallies long rally to look for opportunities. I started badly in the first set, but then I was patient and played the strategies of my own. “I was strong in the second set and hit a lot of sharp smashes. I was thinking I don’t need to save energy for the following matches because there won’t be any following matches if I lost. And it worked.” Lu will now face number 12 seed Kidambi Srikanth, who ended Li Shifeng’s adventure in Spain after a tough battle 15-21, 21-18, 21-17. “Kidambi is very experienced player and I believe he was taking full advantage of his experience to beat down Li today,” Lu said. “I have never beaten him before but I’ll be well prepared for the tough game. Hopefully I can make some breakthroughs just like today.” In the women’s singles, He Bingjiao moved into the last 16 after beating Marie Batomene of France in straight sets 21-12, 21-15. China’s top seeds, Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan strolled into the last 16 with an easy 21-11, 21-4 victory over the Peruvian pairing of Ines Castillo and Paula La Torre. Ng Wing Yung and Yeung Nga Ting also progressed after defeating 16th seeds Amalie Magelund and Freja Ravn, 21-16, 21-18.
