LONDON — Olympic champion Li Xuerui made a great escape for the second successive day to survive into the quarterfinals of the All England Badminton Championships Thursday. The top-seeded Chinese player came from a game and 8-13 down against Minatsu Mitani, the world No. 16 from Japan, drifting to within three points of defeat before winning 14-21, 21-19, 21-15. Li had saved a match point Wednesday against Busanan Ongbumrungpan (21-14, 15-21, 22-20), the world No. 17 from Thailand, and once again proved resourceful enough to turn the tide against a good opponent who had the momentum in her favor. “It's a difficult situation when your opponent has a lead,” admitted Li. “Both my coach and myself were telling me to keep fighting. I also adopted the right tactics to perform at my level. I was able to adjust and find solutions, so in that way I was happy with my performance.” “I hope it will be a good experience to have two tough matches,” said Li. “It can help me to become psychologically and mentally tougher.” However, Li may need to raise her game still further to regain the title she won here two years ago and which she says retains a special place in her heart as a stepping stone to her Olympic triumph at London 2012. She next plays Sung Ji-hyun, the fifth-seeded Korean who reached the final of the Denmark Open five months ago. Sung came back from a three-point deficit in the first game against Lindaweni Fanetri, the world No. 18 from Indonesia, to win 23-21, 21-11. It was a near perfect day for Malaysia's world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei Wednesday as he cruised through the first round while his main rivals struggled. Lee, a silver medalist at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, played within himself to dispose of Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-15, 21-17 and book his place in the second round. While Lee was in cruise control, world No. 3 Tommy Sugiarto was dumped out of the tournament by China's Gao Huan. Gao took the first game 21-13 but Sugiarto smashed through the second 21-10. While many expected the Indonesian to go on to seal the win, it was Gao who took the decider 21-18. Another of Lee's main rivals, Chen Long, also looked in danger of an early exit when he lost his first game 21-10 to Denmark's Viktor Axelsen. Chen, who defeated Lee in last year's final, found himself trailing in the second game but fought back to win 21-15, then completed the victory 21-12 in the deciding game. Chen said he was not surprised there had been spectacular early upsets. “The All England championships is a tournament that has a lot of character and it is not a surprise to see a big upset caused by a lower ranked player to a high ranked player,” he said. “It's a really special tournament and it is unique and everyone wants to win it. “It was almost a bad result for me but I can handle losing, what I cannot handle is playing badly.” Chen next plays Japan's Takuma Ueda while Malaysian Lee plays compatriot Chong Wei Feng. — Agencies
