World No. 1-ranked Xie Xingfang downed South Korea’s Hwang Hye-youn 21-9, 21-19 in the opening match for China, which is seeking its seventh straight title in the elite women’s tournament.

Lee Kyung-won and Lee Hyo-jung tied the score 1-1 with a 14-21, 21-17, 21-18 win in the first doubles match at Jakarta’s Istora Senayan Indoor Stadium.

But the favored Chinese rallied when Lu Lan coasted to a 21-9, 21-12 win over Jang Soo-young, and China sealed the win thanks to a 21-19, 21-8 win by Wei Yili and Zhang Yawen in the second doubles match.

“There is a lot of pressure on us to win but that’s to be expected,” China coach Li Yongbo said.

“We have a lot of young players on this team here and this tournament is good experience for them.”

Host Indonesia faces Germany later Thursday in the other semifinal.

Xie set the tone for China, relying on her superior reach and unforced errors by Hwang to cruise to an easy win the first game.

Hwang fought back in the second but Xie erased a 19-17 deficit with four straight points to win the opening match in just 42 minutes.

“This is tough tournament,” Li said. “A lot of teams have improved over the years and I’m glad to see that, as long as China keeps winning.”

In the men’s Thomas Cup, defending champion China will play in Friday’s semifinals against Malaysia.

China defeated Thailand on Wednesday while Malaysia downed Japan both by scores of 3-0.

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