Olympics: China overpower US badminton duo

Thursday, 14 August 2008

BEIJING - China's champions Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng thrashed Howard Bach and Bob Malaythong in the quarter-finals of the men's badminton doubles on Wednesday, shattering the Americans' Olympic dreams.

Bach and Malaythong, unseeded at these Games, were gunning for a medal after making history this week by becoming the first Americans to reach the last eight in Olympic badminton.

But the Chinese second seeds showed no mercy at the Beijing University of Technology gymnasium, racing to an 8-0 lead in the first game and not looking back, winning 21-9, 21-10 in just 29 minutes.

"Obviously they are world-class players and we expect nothing less, they stepped on the court and every open opportunity they had, they executed," said Bach, who reached the last 16 in Athens.

For the first time at this tournament, the vocal near-capacity Chinese crowd were given some competition, with a small contingent of American fans screaming "U-S-A, U-S-A".

The Chinese responded by booing the supporters on several occasions, and roaring their own chants of "Go China" and "Kill (the shot)".

"That was our home town fans and friends, I wouldn't call it bad sportsmanship that's just how the crowd is in any country," Bach said.

The Chinese duo have a semi-final showdown with Lee Jae-Jin and Hwang Ji-Man, South Korea's last medal hope on the men's side after third seeds and hot favourites Jung Jae-Sung and Lee Yong-Dae crashed out in the first round.

Unseeded Lee and Hwang defeated Japan's Keita Masuda and Tadashi Ohtsuka 21-12, 18-21, 21-9 in their quarter-final.

In other matches, Indonesia's top seeds Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan downed Malaysia's Asian Games champions Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong on Wednesday 21-16, 21-18.

They take on Denmark's veterans Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen who downed Poland's Michal Logosz and Robert Mateusiak 17-21, 21-11, 21-15 in a clash of the European nations.

Although the USA duo were confident of winning their quarter final, Bach conceded it was always going to be tough, with the Chinese virtually unbeatable at home.

"Obviously they're one of the hottest teams in China, arguably, like (tennis star Rafael) Nadal on a clay court, they rarely lose in China, so it will be interesting to see how they go," he said.

Bach, who emigrated from Vietnam when he was three, said he was especially disappointed that his father had been unable to get a visa and a flight in time to see him play in Beijing.