China shuttlers beat Korean pair and advance to Hong Kong Open semis
Disqualified from the Olympics, pair moves a step closer to defending Hong Kong Open title
Former Olympic champion Yu Yang and her partner Wang Xiaoli put unhappy memories of London behind them as the two mainlanders stormed into the doubles semi-finals at the Yonex-Sunrise Hong Kong Open.
The pair, who lifted the 2011 world title, were 21-10, 21-19 victors over South Korea's Eom Hye-won and Jang Ye-na at the Coliseum in Hung Hom yesterday, although they were stretched in the second game.
"We still need some time to get back to our best," said Yu, the 2008 Beijing Games doubles champion when partnered with Du Jing. "We did not have any systematic training after the London Olympics and after going through five matches at last week's China Open, we were running out of stamina a bit in the second game.
"We do have to work hard on our fitness level but since there is only one match a day, we should have enough time to prepare for the semi-finals."
The second seeds and defending champions will meet Shizuka Matsuo and Mami Naito of Japan in the next round, and if it goes according to form they should take on Olympic champions Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei in the final.
The pair were favourite for London gold after lifting the world title a year ago at the Wembley Arena, the Olympics venue. But they were disqualified after being found guilty of failing to try their best in a group match in order to get a favourable draw in the knockout round.