Top-seeded Chinese badminton duo take revenge on Dutch pair at Tokyo 2020

Badminton world No. 1 and top-seeded mixed doubles duo Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong defeated the Netherlands' Robin Tabeling and Selena Piek in straight games at Tokyo 2020 here on Sunday.

Zheng and Siwei's win served as revenge of sorts for the 2020 All England Open Badminton Championships, when the Chinese duo were knocked out before the quarterfinal stage by the Dutch pair.

The game began in a seesaw situation with the two teams tied at 15-15, before the Chinese pair seized the initiative and earned six points in a row to take the first game.

The second game was more challenging for Zheng and Huang. The Dutch duo dominated from the onset and kept their lead. However, the Chinese shuttlers clawed back from 8-13 down and held on to clinch another game, this time 22-20.

"I feel like this was the first real game of the Tokyo Olympics," Huang said. "We came to get a feel of long rallies today, especially swift actions."

"It was very difficult, but we got through and feel pretty good," Huang added. "Hopefully we can have a better performance tomorrow against the South Korean pair."

Zheng and Huang will encounter the world No. 6 duo of Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung on Monday.

The badminton competition at Tokyo 2020 is being held behind closed doors at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza.