China’s Shi Yuqi beat 11th seed Rasmus Gemke of Denmark to reach the last 16 at the Badminton World Championships here on Tuesday.
Shi, who returned to the tournament after a 10-month suspension, took 46 minutes to beat the Dane 21-13 and 21-16 in the second round.
The 2018 Worlds runner-up slipped to 25th in the world rankings after a long absence, but he proved to be much stronger than the rankings spot suggested.
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He rated his performance “7 out of 10”, one point higher than his first-round show.
“I played much better than the first match, although there is still a long way to go to reach my best badminton,” he said.
The Chinese national champion struggled in his win over low-ranked Azerbaijan’s Ade Resky Dwicahyo on Monday, the first game after his suspension was lifted in early July. He was forced to battle 14-9 in the opener to win, Xinhua reports.
Shi was banned from all competitions last October for making “inappropriate remarks” about the Thomas Cup semi-final forfeit against Japan’s Kento Momota.
Shi will next face sixth seed Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia, who crushed Georges Julien Paul of Mauritius 21-10, 21-16. Shi has kept a perfect record in their previous six encounters.
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“He’s a tough player and he always hurts you,” Shi said. “It will definitely be a tough game.”
Lu Guangzu was eliminated from the tournament after losing to Chinese Taipei’s Wang Tzu Wei 21-18, 21-16.
Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping, who stunned teammates Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong to win Olympic mixed doubles gold last year, opened their campaign with a tough win, beating Malaysian duo Chen Tang Jie/Peck Yen Wei 21-14, 12-21, 21-11.
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