Vietnam swept by Japan at Asian badminton champs

The hosts could not prevent a quick 0-5 loss to title favourite Japan in a match that took nearly two-and-a-half hours.

Duo Do Tuan Duc and Le Thu Huyen were the only Vietnamese athletes who could lead in some moments against Kenta Kazuno/Ayane Kurihara in the second set of the mixed doubles match. However, they finally lost 11-21, 18-21.

Earlier, Duc and Pham Hoang Nam were defeated 21-8, 21-10 in the men’s doubles by Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe.

Visitor Sayaka Sato met no difficulty to beat Nguyen Thuy Linh 21-16, 21-13 in the women’s singles before her teammate Kamumasa Sakai won 21-11, 21-3 over Pham Cao Cuong in the men’s singles.

Shiho Tanaka and Koharu Yonemoto needed only 17 minutes to trounce Nguyen Thi Sen and Vu Thi Trang 21-5, 21-3 in the women’s doubles.

In another match on February 16, Thailand also beat the Philippines 5-0.

In the stages today, Japan and Thailand--who have qualified for the tournament’s next stage--will face each other while Vietnam meets with the Philippines.