Uber Cup Day 4: Japan, Korea win respective groups
Two former champions have won their respective groups as the group stages of the BWF Uber Cup Finals 2022 concludes Wednesday, May 11 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok.
Japan survives singles upset as it smothers Indonesia to win Group A
Six-time champions Japan bucked the upset in their opening singles rubber, winning the rest of their assignments with a 4-1 result over three-time titlists Indonesia in Court 1.
Reigning world champion and current world number 1 Akane Yamaguchi was at the wrong end of a 21-19, 21-19 upset of 18-year old Bilqis Prasista, with the Indonesian shuttler was ranked 327 in the world at the time.
However, Yamaguchi’s teammates picked up the slack and took the next four matches (including a sweep in doubles play) to win the group.
Indonesia have made its eighth straight appearance in the knockout phase since the 2008 edition.
On the other tie, Germany edged France 3-2 to finish third in the group.
Korea sweeps India to claim Group D pole
2010 champions Korea made light work on two-time semifinalists India, as it swept all its matches for a 5-0 whitewash to top Group D
World number four An Se-young needed 42 minutes for a 21-14, 21-15 wipeout of world number seven PV Sindhu in the singles opener, the lone match that went past 40 minutes.
India finished second in the group, and will qualify for the quarterfinals for the fourth time in the last five editions.
Canada will take solace with a consolatory 3-2 win over the United States in a PanAm showdown, having gone 1-2 down to win their last two matches.
