Horsens: Defending Thomas and Uber Cup champions China began their campaigns by effortlessly demolishing their opponents at the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup Finals 2026 at Forum Horsens here today. According to BERNAMA News Agency, China's Thomas Cup team cruised to a 5-0 win over Australia in Group A, with their main singles and world number one Shi Yu Qi taking only 31 minutes to oust Ephraim Sam, 21-14, 21-10. The world number five men's doubles pair, Liang Wei Keng-Wang Chang, outplayed Jack Yu-Rizky Hidayat, 21-11, 21-12 in 22 minutes for the second point while second singles Li Shi Feng had to put in a bit more effort for the winning point by beating Shrey Dhand, 21-15, 17-21, 21-16. The 11-time champions continued their domination through Chen Bo Yang-Liu Yi, who came out tops against Andika Ramadiansyah-Frederick Zhao, 21-8, 21-12 before third singles Lu Guang Zu completed the rout with his 21-7, 21-6 victory over Rishi Honda Boopathy. Speaking after the match at the mixed zone, Guang Zu was pleased to s ee China made a strong start in the tournament. He acknowledged that the campaign might become increasingly difficult as they progress and emphasized the importance of maintaining focus. China's Uber Cup team mirrored the success of their male counterparts by securing a flawless 5-0 win against Ukraine in their Group A match. World number four Chen Yu Fei opened proceedings with a 21-9, 21-14 win over Sofiia Lavrova, followed by Han Yue's 21-7, 21-12 victory against Anastasiia Alymova. Xu Wen Jing barely broke a sweat as she beat Raiia Almalalha 21-6, 21-6 for the winning point. Jia Yi Fan-Zhang Shu Xian defeated Alymova, who returned to the court with Mariia Stoliarenko, 21-13, 21-12. Li Yi Jing-Luo Xu Min then secured the clean sweep with a dominant 21-5, 21-8 win over Almalalha-Lavrova in 23 minutes. After the match, Yi Jing expressed her delight with the team's perfect start and hoped China could maintain the same intensity in their next challenge against hosts Denmark tomorrow.