TOKYO, May 1: England beat South Africa 3-0 on Monday to set up a daunting midweek quarter-final against holders China at the Thomas Cup.
Andrew Smith, Nick Kidd and Rajiv Ouseph all posted comfortable wins as England swept into the last eight of the men's world team championships.
India's men booked a spot against European power Denmark thanks to a 3-0 victory over New Zealand but India coach Vimal Kumar said his side were unlikely to progress further.
Japan comfortably beat the United States 3-0 in the first knockout round but the hosts are unlikely to pose much threat to 13-times champions Indonesia in Wednesday's quarter-finals.
Indonesia, China, Denmark and Malaysia all received a first-round bye after winning their preliminary groups in Sendai.
In the women's Uber Cup, Singapore overpowered New Zealand 3-0 to earn the right to face defending champions and red-hot favourites China in the quarterfinals.
The Netherlands will play Japan after beating the U.S. 3-0 while Germany blanked South Africa to book a quarter-final with Hong Kong.
England suffered a 3-0 whitewash at the hands of Taiwan and failed to advance to the next stage of the competition.—Reuters