Uber Cup Day 1 roundup: Sweeps galore as top seeds win
The opening day of the BWF Uber Cup Finals 2022 has no such surprises, as the title favorites flexed their muscles in their opening fixtures Sunday, May 8.
We look at how each group went.
Group A: Japan and Indonesia brush aside France and Germany
The Asian teams were the clear winners in this group, as they recorded 5-0 sweeps over their European counterparts.
In the morning session, Indonesia showed their depth even without the reigning Olympic champion pair of Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu as they took all the ties against the French, with their singles games went the distance.
On the nightcap, newly-minted world number one Akane Yamaguchi led the Japanese into a resounding win over Germany, sweeping all ties with a 2-0 scoreline.
Group B: Chinese Taipei too much for Marin-less Spain, China opens defense with rout of Australia
There is some disappointment in Group B’s opening tie between Chinese Taipei and Spain, as the much-anticipated match between Tai Tzu-Ying and Carolina Marin did not happen.
Instead, the world number two took care of business against Clara Azurmendi in two straight games, as Chinese Taipei took care of the tie, 4-1. The lone Spanish win came when Azurmendi and Beatriz Corrales won in a three-game thriller over Hsu Ya-ching and Lee Chia-Hsin.
On the other tie, China dominated Australia with a whitewash of their own as Chen Yu Fei and He Bing Jiao lead the holders to a 5-0 shutout.
Group C: Thailand made easy work of Egypt as Denmark edged Malaysia
Hosts Thailand made light work on their opening game in the evening match, brushing aside African champions Egypt with a golden sweep, holding them to just single digits in all but one game.
The thriller of the opening day came in the afternoon, where Denmark came from 1-2 down to get past Malaysia, 3-2 courtesy of their 2-0 sweeps in their last two matches.
Group D: Korea, India flex wins over USA and Canada
The Asian sides won their opening ties against another continent, this time against North American opposition.
Korea took a 5-0 wipeout of the USA, winning every game they’ve played.
On the other hand, former World Champion PV Sindhu lead India into a masterful 4-1 win over Canada, as she drew first blood over Michelle Li in the opening singles tie.
Although Rachel Honderich and Kristen Tai made it interesting with their doubles win, India were too strong as they took the next three rubbers, with Aakarshi Kashyap edged Wen Yu Zhang in a three-game thriller in the second singles.
