2015 Sudirman Cup: France whitewashed 5-0 by Hong Kong; Spain lose 3-2 to the Dutch

Wei Nan registered a comfortable win in his singles match against Brice Leverdez

Hong Kong demolished France 5-0 on Day Three of the 2015 Sudirman Cup. The French managed to win just 2 games in the entire rubber and looked competitive in only the mixed doubles as well as the women’s doubles while looking pretty ordinary in the rest of the matches.

Here’s a round-up:

1.Mixed Doubles: Lee Chen Hui/Chau Hei(HKG) vs Emilie Lefel/Ronan Labor(FRA)

The Hong Kong pair began the match in fine fashion, racing to a 5-1 lead in the first game. That lead became 8-2 and eventually at the break, they had further strengthened it to 11-5. The interval didn't have any effect on their momentum as they clinched the first game 21-12.

The French through were in no mood to back off and came roaring back into the contest, running away to a 5-2 early lead and maintained the lead throughout to win the game eventually 21-15 and take the match into the decider.

The deciding game proved to be an absolute thriller as both sides went toe-to-toe throughout but a crucial service fault by the French pair at 20-19 proved to be their downfall in the end as the Hong Kong pair saved as many as three game points to clinch the game 23-21.

Final Scoreline: Lee Chen Hui/ Chau Hei beat Ronan Labar/ Emilie Lefel 21-12 21-15 23-21

2.Men’s Singles: Wei Nan vs Brice Leverdez

This proved to be a one-sided contest as the Wei never let his opponent take any control of the match at any point. The 31-year-old dominated proceedings from the outset and despite the occasional comeback by Leverdez, clinched the first game 21- 18.

The second game was no different as Wei maintained the stranglehold on his French opponent and eventually won the game and the match to give his side a 2-0 lead.

Final Scoreline: Wei Nan beat Brice Leverdez 21-18 21-15

3.Men’s Doubles: OR Chin Chung/Tang Chin Mang vs Baptiste Careme/ Ronan Labar

If France harboured any hopes of staying on in the contest, they required their doubles pair of Careme and Labar to win their match against the 403^rd ranked Hong Kong pair. But the young duo showed very little nerves in front of the French pair and took the first game 21-17.

The second game saw the Hong Kong pair race off to an early 11-3 lead at the break. Careme and Labar tried to forge a comeback after the interval, but it proved to too much in the end as the youngsters from Hong Kong took the second game to make it 3-0 for their side.

Final Scoreline: OR Chin Chung/Tang Chin Mang beat Baptiste Careme/ Ronan Labar 21-17 21-16

4.Women’s Singles: Cheung Ngan Yi vs Anne Tran

The women’s singles saw a similar trend to the men’s as the Cheng got off to a firing start taking an 11-2 lead, heading into the break in the first game. The Frenchwomen tried to make a contest out of it after the interval, but the deficit before the interval made it an improbable task and Cheung took the first game 21- 14.

The second game saw a similar tale unfold as Cheung once again took the early lead and even as Tran gave it her best to make a match out of it, it went in vain and Hong Kong took a 4-0 lead in the rubber.

Final Scoreline: Cheung Ngan Yi beat Anne Tran 21-14 21-15

5.Women’s Doubles: Poon Lok Yan/Tse Ying Suet vs Audrey Fontaine/ Emilie Lefel

Playing to regain some lost pride, the French pair made a strong start to the final match of the rubber, taking an 11-9 lead at the interval. They continued to carry momentum afterwards as well, and eventually clinched the first game 21-19.

The second game saw the Hong Kong duo make a fighting return into the fixture as they first raced to an 11-3 lead and then carried forward to win the game 21-10 to take the match into the decider.

The deciding game saw the French pair take the early lead, only for them to squander it yet again.They went from being 7-3 up to 9-8 down in a matter of minutes and the Hong Kong pair never allowed their opponents to get back into the game after that, taking it 21-13 to complete the whitewash.

Final Scoreline: Poon Lok Yan/ Tse Ying Suet beat Audrey Fontaine/Emilie Lefel 19-21 21-10 21-13

Other Results:

Isreal beat Seychelles 4-1

USA beat Brazil 4-1

Netherlands beat Spain 3-2

Sri Lanka beat Kazakhstan 3-2