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HYDERABAD, India: World number two Chen Jin of China faced some anxious moments before overcoming Indian Parupalli Kashyap in the second round of the World badminton championships on Wednesday.
Unseeded Kashyap, cheered by the home crowd, surprised the second-seeded Chinese when he bagged the opening game but then failed to match his opponent to lose 14-21, 21-10, 21-7 in 53 minutes.
Denmark's Jan O Jorgensen pulled off the only major upset in the men's section when he downed eighth-seeded Korean Park Sung Hwan 21-16, 17-21, 21-15.
Favourites Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, Indonesian Taufik Hidayat, Denmark's Peter Gade and Chinese Lin Dan also made it to the men's singles third round, all winning in straight games.
Big players advanced into the women's singles third round, with world number one Zhou Mi of Hong Kong, Chinese Wang Lin, Wang Yihan, Xie Xingfang and Lu Lan, Indian Saina Nehwal and Pi Hongyan winning in straight games.
But there were minor upsets, with Japanese Ai Goto beating 14th-seeded Malaysian Wong Mew Choo and Thailand's Salakjit Ponsana rallying to down 16th-seeded Judith Meulendijks of the Netherlands.
Top-seeded Lee, seeking his maiden title at the championships, posted an easy 21-11, 21-14 win over Nigerian Ola Fagbemi.
"I don't think I was at my 100 per cent best today, but so far so good," said world number one Lee.
"I think my next match (against Tien Minh Nguyen) will be tough because I have lost to him recently in the Singapore Open."
Vietnam's Nguyen, seeded 14th, reached the third round with a 21-14, 21-16 win over Brice Leverdez of France.
Zhou, who got a first-round bye, needed just 27 minutes to beat New Zealand's Chan Ky Michelle 21-11, 21-15.
"I am still trying to adapt to the conditions," said Zhou, who represented China before qualifying to play for Hong Kong in 2007.
"I also quit the game for some time and then returned to achieve the number one ranking. I am happy with what I have achieved. It will be another achievement if I win the title here."
Zhou, like Lee, is aiming for a maiden World title.
Third-seeded Gade beat Japan's Sho Sasaki 21-11, 21-12 while fourth-seeded Hidayat recorded a 21-
17, 21-15 win over Mathieu Lo Ying Ping of France.
"It was easier than I expected and everything is going according to the plan," said Gade.
"I controlled the match but I have to be at my best in the remaining matches. I had a good run-up to the championships and I practised very hard."
Sixth-seeded Nehwal opened her campaign with a 21-10, 21-17 win over Russian Anastasia Prokopenko.
"Right now I am very happy with my fitness. I didn't feel tired, but I am going to be tested in tomorrow's match," said Nehwal, who will now meet 10th-seeded Bulgarian Petya Nedelcheva.
"The fact that it was my first match after recovering from chicken pox, it did play on my mind before I started. But luckily it wasn't a major problem.
"Expectations will be there, but as a player you will have to focus on the game. Of course, some tension was there in my mind, but I am happy I won the match."
Fifth-seeded Xie, looking for a record third singles title, won when her Bulgarian opponent Linda Zechiri retired after feeling unwell in the second game. She was leading 23-21, 18-10. - AFP/de
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