China seek Olympic boost with Thomas and Uber Cup titles

SHANGHAI: Lin Dan’s China will look to reassert their dominance in Badminton ahead of the Olympics by resuming their stranglehold on the Thomas and Uber Cup titles on home ground from Sunday.

The sport’s pre-eminent nation suffered a blip at the last Thomas Cup in 2014 when Lin’s team were stunned in the semi-finals by Japan, who then beat Malaysia in the final.But Japan axed star man Kento Momota in April over a gambling scandal, and the signs are that normal service will be resumed when the world team championships convene in Kunshan.China’s men won the Thomas Cup five times in a row until their defeat to Japan, while their women have collected eight of the last nine titles in the concurrent Uber Cup.Uppermost in their minds will be the Rio Olympics in August, where China will attempt to match their performance at the last Games where they swept all five gold medals.“China always makes a strong point to prove their strength in team matches,” Raphael Sachetat, chief editor of the online magazine badzine.net, told

AFP.