SENDAI, April 29 (Xinhua) -- With seeded teams all being absent for the whole day, mediocre teams occupied the courts on the 2nd day of the 24th Thomas Cup and the 21st Uber Cup championships commenced here on Friday.

    In the four matches of the Thomas Cup, Japan beat South Africa, and Indonesia defeated New Zealand with an identical 5-0. England edged out the United States 3-2.

    Games between Germany and India consumed the longest time. It was dragged into the decider and lasted for 3 hours and 35 minutes.

    Indonesian top player Taufik, the world and Olympic champion, said he saved strength in the first singles and is ready to perform better in the upcoming match with South Korea on Sunday.

    In the rivalry for the Uber Cup, New Zealand and Chinese Taipei both easily overcome their opponents South Africa and the United States 5-0 respectively. Besides, England lost to Hong Kong, China2-3 and Germany overwhelmed Singapore 3-2.

    With two victories in group X, Hong Kong, China topped the group and made it through to quarter-finals to be held in Tokyo.

    Although having watched his boys and girls easily blanking opponents on Friday, Chinese head coach Li Yongbo on Saturday morning criticized some top shuttlers for being not in high spirits and urged them to improve in the coming matches.

    The Chinese women's team, the definite favorite, is expecting their fifth title in a row, while the Chinese men's team is trying hard to retain the Thomas Cup after bringing it back to China in the 2004 tournament held in Indonesia. Enditem