Asuncions succumb to rated Chinese duo

Kennevic and Kennie Asuncion of the Philippines saw their amazing run come to an end as they bowed to third-seeded Chen Qiqiu and Zhao Tingting of China, 15-7, 15-5, in the third round of the mixed doubles competition of the 2005 IBF World Badminton Championships yesterday at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California.

The Filipinos gave their Chinese foes a respectable fight, but Chen and Zhao were simply too good as they never trailed and finished the match in only 25 minutes.

The Asuncion siblings, ranked 28th in the world, stayed within striking distance at the start of the first set, 2-3. However, the Chinese tandem capitalized on their opponents’ 21 unforced errors to seize a big 14-5 lead.

Still, the Filipinos refused to give up and saved three game points and made it 7-14 before eventually losing the set.

In the second frame, the Chinese immediately grabbed the upperhand, 3-0, but the Filipinos momentarily recovered and managed to stay close, 9—5. A costly error by the Asuncions, however, yielded the service back to the Chinese, who went for the kill as they scored the next six points to close out the match. Chen and Zhao thus moved on to the quarterfinals where they will meet fellow countrymen Xie Zhongbo and Zhang Yawen.

Despite the setback, the Asuncions earned much respect after reaching the Last 16. They beat Philippe Bourret and Helen Nichol of Canada in three gripping sets in the opening round then went on to defeat the 58th ranked Dutch tandem of Jurgen Wouters and Paulien Van Dooremalen in straight sets.

ESPN STAR Sports, Asia’s number one sports broadcaster, has the live and exclusive coverage of this year’s World Badminton Championships direct from the Arrowhead Pond. The quarterfinals will be aired at 9 a.m. today while the semifinals and finals will be shown tomorrow and Monday, respectively on STAR Sports.

More than 300 players representing more than 50 countries are competing in this year’s event, which is making its first appearance in the United States.

Next year, ESPN STAR Sports will broadcast the prestigious Thomas and Uber Cup from Japan.