It took planning and perseverance for Chinese pair Zheng Bo-Ma Jin to overcome top seeds Nova Widianto-Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia in the mixed doubles quarter-finals at the Pierre de Coubertin Stadium in Paris.

And after the top seeds fell, it was the turn of No 2 seeds and defending champions Thomas Laybourn-Kamilla Rytter Juhl of Denmark to bite the dust as they were sent packing by sixth seeds He Hanbin-Yu Yang of China 21-19, 21-17.

Zheng-Ma overcame all odds to beat Widianto-Liliyana 21-19, 23-21 in a match that had plenty of drama and showcased badminton at its best.

They will take on South Korea’s Ko Sung Hyun-Ha Jung Eun in the semifinals. The Koreans ousted the Indian pairing of V.Diju-Jwala Gutta 21-16, 21-19 in another last eight clash.

But the Chinese too saw the exit of one of their more fancied pairs in the mixed doubles as Tao Jiaming-Zhang Yawen, the No 10 seeds, lost to Lee Sheng Mu-Chien Yu Chin of Chinese Taipei 14-21, 21-18, 17-21.

“We knew that we could beat them if we had a game plan and all credit to my partner Ma as she was good defensively,” said Zheng.

“We had planned for this match for quite some time and I am glad that it paid off and we look forward to the semi finals with confidence.”

For the Indonesians, they only had themselves to blame for losing as they held the upper hand early in the second game, leading 5-1 and 9-5 at one stage.

But they failed to seize the initiative and allowed the Chinese pair to surge ahead 17-15 before staging a late rally. With only one point separating them from taking the match into a decider, Nova’s serve failed to clear the net with the score 21-20 in their favour.

“We made too many mistakes and played very badly today. Our defensive play was loose and really we did not deserve to win,” conceded Nova.

Struggling with V. Diju’s sore back, the Indian mixed doubles team was no match for the Korean 12th seeds Sung Hyun Ko-Jung Eun.
It was apparent mid-way through the first game when Diju clutched his lower back that movement at the back court was painful for him. Still he managed to earn points but the errors piled on.
“It was a struggle,” said Jwala. “We knew we were in a strong position having beaten the same team before but with Diju struggling it was difficult to maintain a set momentum.”

“We knew we were the better team and it is very difficult to come to terms with this loss,” said Jwala. “Right after the match, Diju had to be rushed to the massage centre and I hope his back gets okay fast.”

In the men's doubles, Xu Chen-Guo Zhendong ended former world champions Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen of Denmark's campaign with a 21-16, 23-21 win.