On April 30, the third round of the Thomas Cup group stage was underway, and the ongoing China-South Korea war broke out a big upset. Shi Yuqi did not perform well in the first game, losing to Quan Yichen 14-21 and losing one game first. This is the first game that the Chinese team lost in this competition, and it is also another big upset in the men's singles competition.
The third round of matches between China and South Korea is the focus of this round, and the winner will win the group. The matchups in this match are as follows: Shi Yuqi vs Jeon Yi Chen, Leung Wei Keng/Wang Chang vs Seo Seung Jae/Kang Min Hyuk, Lee Shi Feng vs Lee Lun Gyu, Liu Yuchen/Ou Hyun Yi vs Ki Dong Joo/Kim Won Hoon, Lu Kwang Joo vs Woo Seung Hoon.
In terms of the overall strength of the five matches, the Chinese team had an advantage in three men's singles games and was evenly matched in two men's doubles. However, Korean players often play in the team competition, and the men's singles competition cannot be relaxed.
In the first men's singles match, Shi Yuqi, ranked No. 2 in the world, faced Quan Yichen, ranked No. 47 in the world, in a match with a huge disparity in strength. The two have played each other 1 time before, and the winner is Shi Yuqi. This point is also one of the points expected by the Chinese team.
In the first game, the two sides competed fiercely at the beginning, and the score rose from 4-4 to 7-7. In the following game, Quan Yichen turned on the offensive mode, constantly penetrated Shi Yuqi's defense, and led 11-8 into a timeout.
After returning from the pause, Shi Yuqi tried to strengthen the attack to turn the situation around, but he was never able to break through Quan Yichen's defense, and his own mistakes continued, and the score was stretched to 10-16. Shi Yuqi's good rhythm and slashing did not play, and he kept losing points, and lost the first game with a 14-21 upset.
In the second game, Quan Yichen continued his good form, and the score was always in the lead, leading 11-8 into a timeout. Shi Yuqi continued to chase the score through four big horns, and the score came to 13-13. After that, the two sides started a tug-of-war, and the score was pulled to 16-16. At the critical moment, Shi Yuqi continued to speed up and grab the net to score, equalizing the score 21-17.