QINGDAO, China - AFP
Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia (L) shakes hands with Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka of Indonesia
India face the might of holders and hosts China later Thursday in the quarter-finals of the Sudirman Cup, while South Korea take on Malaysia.
The winners of the two ties
will face each other in the semi-finals on Saturday at the world mixed team championships in Qingdao.
In the other half of the draw, Denmark play Taiwan on Friday and Japan are up against Indonesia.
Indian representative Giresh Natu said: \"It will be a difficult match but we won’t have any special plans to stop China. Our players will go all out and give 100 percent no matter what.\"
South Korea were pushed into the early hours of Thursday by Denmark, meaning they have a few hours less to rest before they play Malaysia.
But South Korea manager Sung Han-Kook said: \"This is badminton. Both teams played on Wednesday night but obviously Malaysia will be slightly fresher. I expect a tough contest.\"
Malaysian doubles coach Rexy Mainaky said: \"We are in a tough half of the draw with India, China and Korea.
\"It would have been better to have played on Friday but I guess the advantage is that they (the players) will have a day’s rest before the semi-finals.\"