South Korea take on Chinese Taipei in the quarter-final of the ongoing inaugural Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam during the evening session on Friday.
The second-seeded Asian giants were in good form in the group stages, decimating minnows Sri Lanka in their tournament opener before outclassing India 4-1 to top the group on Thursday.
Unlike most of the top teams in the ongoing tournament, South Korea have arrived in Vietnam with their top-ranked shuttlers including world number four Son Wan Ho and world number three Sung Ji Hyun. The latter has not dropped a game yet and is expected to maintain her perfect record with another win later today.
Son though did not play the first tie and lost his match yesterday against India's HS Prannoy. He will face another stiff test world number Chou Tien Chen, who decimated Hong Kong's Ng Ka Long in his first match.
South Korea have a slender advantage in the doubles category as well with the likes of world number four Women's pairing of Lee So Hee and Chang Ye Na along with veterans Kim Gi Jung and Yoo Yeon Seong in the Men's doubles unit.
Despite winning their first tie against Hong Kong by a comfortable 4-1 margin, Taiwan were blanked by China 5-0 on Thursday. A lot will depend on their singles star Tien Chen to comeback into the team and provide them with early momentum. However, it will be an uphill task for the Group A runners-up against the in-form South Koreans this evening.
TV Schedule
Singapore: Eleven Sports
Malaysia: Astro Supersport 4
Team News
South Korea
Possible Line-up: Son Wan Ho (MS), Sung Ji Hyun (WS), Kim Gi Jung/Yoo Yeon Seong (MD), Chang Ye Na/Lee So Hee (WD), Chae Yoo Jung/SolGyu Choi (XD)
Chinese Taipei
Possible Line-up: Chou Tien Chen (MS), Chiang Mei Hui (WS), Jhe Huei Lee/Yang Lee (MD), Hsu Ya Ching/Wu Ti Jung (WD), Chia Hsin Lee/Chi Lin Wang (XD)
