Kunshan: Chen Long and Tian Houwei of China sprinted through their Thomas Cup openers to edge Mexico 5-0 at Kunshan Sports Center Stadium on Sunday.
World No. 1 Chen Long led the Chinese Thomas Cup squad with a one-sided 21-12, 21-7 victory in the first men’s singles match against Lino Munoz.
China has kept two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan out of Sunday’s roster and moved World No. 6 to the second men’s singles position. Tian did a fabulous job by trashing Job Castillo 21-7, 21-12 to give the host a 2-0 lead. China’s third men’s singles Qiao Bin then beat Luis Ramon Garrido to seal the tie 3-0 in favor of China.
In doubles action, Hong Wei/Zheng Siwei eased past Lopez Andres and Luis Ramon Garrido 21-12, 21-15, and Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen starched Lopez Andres/Luis Ramon Garrido, 21-3, 21-9, in 32 minutes to end the tie with 5-0.
The China men’s team and nine-time Thomas Cup champions will take on France on Monday.
Meanwhile, Indonesia began their Thomas Cup finals campaign brightly by winning the opening matches against Hong Kong with overall score of 5-0. Indonesia will play Thailand on Tuesday.
