2012 BWF Superseries Finals: Li Xuerui remains invincible in Women’s Singles event
The BWF Superseries Finals badminton tournament was the last prestigious event of this ongoing season and its Women’s Singles event was completely dominated by the Chinese shuttlers.
World Number two player Li Xuerui performed exceptionally well and fetched another prestigious title in 2012.
The Olympic champion Li looked in prime touch as nobody could end her unbeatable run in this Superseries event. She stamped renowned contestants like Wang Shixian, Saina Nehwal, Sung Ji Hyun and Eriko Hirose in her way to glory.
She opened her campaign against the compatriot shuttler Wang Shixian and alarmed all the contenders by registering a splendid victory in this hard fought tussle. Both shuttlers remained head-to-head for three gruelling games and this nerve-racking encounter
concluded with decisive figures of 21-19, 15-21 and 21-18.
With such an emphatic start, Li Xuerui never looked back. She was up against a young but talented Japanese campaigner Eriko Hirose in next group match. Both shuttlers challenged each other in all areas of the game and made this a memorable contest.
However, the Chinese badminton queen employed all of her brilliance and experience to save the honour. She claimed first match point with an impressive knock of 25-23 and then placed an overwhelming score of 21-15 to seal her victory.
Her next challenger was the Korean shuttler Sung Ji Hyun who was hanging by thread to stay alive in this esteemed tournament. This group A match proved a dead contest as Li Xuerui did not give her rival even a single chance to proceed on the points table.
She mounted pressure by smacking Ji Hyun with a staggering knock of 21-9 and then made best out of this psychological edge in the next game. She played impeccable badminton in following segment and wrapped this showdown with a laudable margin of 21-12.
With this splendid win, Li Xuerui became group winner and she setup her semi-final clash with World Number three Saina Nehwal. Both spirited shuttlers tested each other’s skills in this crucial match which lasted for 51 minutes before reaching to climax.
There was lot of drama in this tussle as the Chinese player thundered in opening set and blundered in the second set. This match score position made the decider consequential. However, Li Xuerui showed strong character and ensured her presence in the title
match with 2-1 win.
The title match of BWF Superseries Finals saw her taking on Wang Shixian again. This time it was a brief meeting as the other Chinese campaigner conceded walk over due to injury and LI Xuerui earned the right to raise Women’s Singles trophy.
This commendable performance brought lot of admiration and respect for her and she is dancing on air by ending 2012 with such a remarkable fashion.
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