Jakarta: SEA Games champions Amelia Alicia Anscelly/Soong Fie Cho pulled off one of the biggest upsets in World Championships history when the Malaysian pair defeated top seeds and world number one pair Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi of Japan, 21-15, 12-21, 21-14 at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta on Thursday.
After losing their second set, the Malaysian pair produced an energetic display and a gutsy comeback to clinch the decider in a match that lasted 50 minutes. The win saw the Malaysian pair cruised to their first ever World Championships quarter-finals. They will take on No. 7 seeds Nitya Krishinda Maheswari/Greysia Polii of Indonesia on Friday.
“We played them twice before, but today was the first time we managed to beat Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi. We just came into today’s match and played our style of game,” said Soong Fie Cho.
In women’s singles, Indian shuttler P.V Sindhu who defeated Wang Yihan at the 2013 Guangzhou Worlds 2013, and Wang Shixian at Copenhagen 2014, registered another massive upset at the 2015 World Championships when she dominated Olympic champion Li Xuerui with top-quality badminton to dispatch the Chinese in a resounding three-set battle, winning 21-17, 14-21, 21-17 in 50 minutes. P.V Sindhu faces No. 8 seeds Sung Ji Hyun on Friday.
The 2013 women’s singles world champion Ratchanok Intanon was forced to retire when she was leading at 8-5 in the third set due to injury. Her withdrawal allowed Lindaweni Fanetri of Indonesia to set up a quarter-final clash with Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei on Friday.
There will be a lot of excitement in the women’s singles quarter-finals, where big names such as Carolina Marin will face Wang Shixian, and Saina Nehwal will set up a mouthwatering face-off with Wang Yihan in the quarters.
