Sudirman Cup 2017: Updated Points, Standings and Schedule After Sunday

Defending champions China beat Hong Kong on the first day of the 2017 Sudirman Cup at Australia's Gold Coast on Sunday. China won 4-1, and there were also wins for Japan and Vietnam in the Group 1 fixtures.

Elsewhere, Canada survived a squeaker to beat Scotland 3-2 after a stunning comeback from two down, and Slovakia hammered Tahiti 5-0 in Group 3 action.

For the full results, go to the tournament's official website. The updated schedule can be found at SudirmanCup.com.au. Meanwhile, the updated standings are available at Scoreboard.com.

Recap

There was initial trouble for China in the men's doubles, where an unfamiliarity between their star pair of Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan led to some poor play early on, per SudirmanCup.com.au:

"They've only spent one hour and nine minutes or two matches together this year so it was evident that the famous Chinese pair were keeping their strategy simple, seldom deviating from Fu looking after the rear court. The majority of the time was spent finding back the sweet timing that brought them gold medals at Rio."

However, the Chinese soon steadied themselves to take the match by winning back-to-back games 21-15 and 26-24. BadmintonWorld.tv's official YouTube channel relayed some highlights of this exceptional doubles match:

The reigning champions later asserted themselves in the men's singles when Lin Dan controlled proceedings against Hu Yun. He won comfortably 21-14 and 21-13.

Things were different for Japan, who had to recover from losing a men's singles match when Marc Zwiebler beat Kenta Nishimoto 21-8 and 21-18. Fortunately for the Japanese, they had too much class in the men's doubles.

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The pairing of Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda made quick work of Mark Lamsfuss and Marvin Emil Seidel in the first game of their match, winning 21-12. Things were much closer in the next game, with Japan just edging it by two points.

Vietnam won comfortably against New Zealand, taking all but one match in every category. Their only blip came in the men's doubles, with Kevin Dennerly-Minturn and Oliver Leydon-Davis getting one on the board for their country.

Things were a lot closer for Scotland, with Kirsty Gilmour falling to Michelle Li in the women's singles event. To her credit, Gilmour battled back after losing the first game 21-12 to take a marathon second game 24-22.

However, it was as close as she got as Li won the third match 21-18. Gimour's defeat was part of three-match slide from Scotland, who had opened up a 2-0 lead, before letting things slip altogether.

Gregory Bull/Associated Press

Kieran Merrilees had made it 2-0 to Scotland after beating Jason Anthony Ho-Shue in the men's singles. Afterwards, Merrilees was magnanimous in victory, per SudirmanCup.com.au: "It's a nice stadium although there is a little bit of wind. This is where my experience could have helped me."

The opening day also featured shutout wins for both Slovakia and Sri Lanka, while Korea Republic downed Russia 4-1 in Group 1B. However, the first day is all about China, with the winners of the last six tournaments in a row showing their credentials as the continued class of this competition.