OLYMPICS/Shuttler Chou wins in straight games to advance to quarterfinals

Paris, Aug. 1 (CNA) Taiwan badminton ace Chou Tien-chen (周天成) on Thursday defeated Japan's Kodai Naraoka in the men's singles round of 16 at the Paris 2024 Olympics in straight games to advance to the quarterfinals.

Chou's victory continued his two-game streak maintained throughout the Paris Olympics after he took down world No. 5 Naroka 21-12, 21-16 in 55 minutes.

The win also marked the third time Taiwan's star shuttler has made it to the quarterfinals at the Olympics. He will next play on Friday.

The match was also the fourth career faceoff between the two. Chou, currently ranked world No. 11, has triumphed every time.

When it was pointed out that his 23-year-old opponent was 11 years his junior, the oldest Olympic male shuttler pointed to the 61-year-old table tennis player Ni Xialian (倪夏蓮) from Luxembourg.

"Age is not an issue," Chou told reporters. "No matter who we face, we must commit to preparing. Look at the table tennis courts, there is even a 60-something-year-old athlete competing with all her heart. (My match) is probably not that big of a deal."

On the participation of older athletes, this year's Olympics also saw the debut of 58-year-old Chilean paddler Tania Zeng (曾之穎).

Both Ni and Zeng used to play table tennis for China, but were able to continue playing in competitions after switching nationalities.

Ni has participated in a total of six Olympic Games.