NANJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- China's world no.1 duo Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan was stunned by Indonesia's no.5 seed Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu 23-21, 23-21 in the quarterfinals of the 2018 BWF World Championships.
In both games Chen and Jia were able to recover from a late start and enjoyed a five-point lead at one stage with their powerful strikes. But the defense put up by Polii and Rahayu seemed impenetrable.
They frequently dragged the top seed into long rallies and triumphed with their patience, especially in a particular point when Rahayu returned two quick shots in front of the net despite sitting on the ground followed by Chen's smash hitting the net.
The defending champions had their chances. In the first game they had two game points in hand and three in the second game, but none were converted. Chen admitted this was the main reason for their loss, instead of her thigh strain, for which she called a medical time-out.
"I won't find any excuse for the defeat," the 21-year-old said afterwards. "Only the ones that give their best on the court and can win the match. We were bad at seizing crucial points, especially when we were ahead."
The last chapter between the two pair was in the group stage of the Uber Cup this year, when Chen and Jia added one point to the Chinese side in the 3-2 win over Indonesia. Here at the World Championships, the Indonesian pair was happy to avenge the defeat.
"What a match, especially when you won [against] the champion and the two sets were really tight. We are just very grateful and we are happy because of our strategy, our energy, and our positive [mind-set]," Polii said.
The exit of Chen and Jia means that there will be no Chinese pair in the semifinals, which puts an end to China's winning streak in the women's doubles at the World Championships. But Chen did not believe this represented a backwards step for Chinese women's doubles.
"When you are progressing forward, the others are doing the same," Chen said. "If you lose maybe it means you still have more to do but you shouldn't deny all your efforts because of one defeat."
