China's badminton duo Zheng/Huang ease into mixed doubles semifinals

Zheng Siwei (L) and Huang Yaqiong of China compete during their mixed doubles quarterfinal win over Indonesia at Tokyo 2020 on July 28, 2021. (Xinhua/Guo Chen)

TOKYO, July 28 (Xinhua) -- China's top-seeded mixed doubles duo Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong eased into badminton semifinals here on Wednesday after beating world No.4 Praveen Jordan/Melati Daeva Oktavianti of Indonesia 2-0 at the Tokyo Olympic tournament.

World No.1 Zheng and Huang kicked off with an overwhelming start, taking a 21-17 lead. The powerful duo continued to dominate in the second, snatching a 21-15 win at ease.

Two years ago in French Open, Zheng/Huang were challenged by the Indonesian pair and lost the finals 2-1.

"Indeed we have made sufficient preparations in terms of targeted tactics against them, but on the other hand they might not be in their best condition during the pandemic and made some mistakes on the court, which offered us chances to win," Zheng said after the game.

Huang Yaqiong (R) of China returns the shuttlecock during the victory over Indonesia. (Xinhua/Li Yibo)

Huang also noted that they had fully prepared for some of the worst scenarios beforehand, including falling behind in the second set after a loss in the opening game, or Jordan scoring consecutive points when he serves.

"When we took the lead at 14-6, Jordan served to earn several points in a row, this was one of the difficulties that we had prepared for. At that moment we didn't panic and tried to mobilize ourselves better to strive for each point," Huang added.

"We had anticipated their advantage in Jordan's serves, so when they were catching up with us, we still had the belief that we can take the game," Zheng echoed.

Badminton mixed doubles semifinals will start Thursday at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza and gold medal match is scheduled to take place on Friday.