2012 China Masters: Gen Li, Cheng Liu make way into Men’s Doubles pre quarter-final round
Men’s Doubles experts Gen Li and Cheng Liu showed superb coordination and cleared their first hurdle in Li Ning China Masters after overpowering Phillip Chew-Sattawat Pongnairat on September 12, 2012.
This first round match prolonged to 35 minutes and both contenders challenged each other in all areas of the game while piling up final result of 21-14, 17-21 and 21-8.
The local badminton arena of Changzhou in China was filled to the brim as a huge crowd gathered to encourage the native shuttlers.
Gen Li and Cheng Liu, who were unseeded players in this Super Series, did not disappoint their supporters and gave them a solid reason to celebrate by sealing a 2-1 victory.
On the other hand, the US campaigners could not forge fruitful chemistry and crashed out of the event in a disgraceful manner.
The opening game heated up when both pairs put all in their possession to gain an early advantage but neither of them could maintain a permanent lead until 6-6.
However, the Chinese shuttlers did not take much time to get settled as they prevailed in couple of consecutive rallies and placed a mountainous total of 11-8.
Later part of the game saw them raising their lead with 16-9 margin which ultimately helped them to pocket the first match point with a notable difference in 21-14 score.
The twosome of Phillip and Sattawat showed a transformed character in the following game and avoided a straight-set defeat.
This time they changed their tactics and confounded the opposing team with a fine show of badminton skills.
In first half of the set, the US shuttlers were a bit sluggish but then a few valuable points provided them the right momentum. They made the best out of this flow and reached to a dominating position of 11-7.
After one-minute break, Gen Li and Cheng Liu strived hard to counter-balance the situation but their effort could not stop their rivals from putting up a winning margin of 21-17.
The Chinese shuttlers played flawless badminton in the decider and swept the table with a striking knock of 21-8.
Now they will meet the higher ranked Malaysian duo Teik Chai Gan-Soon Hock Ong in the pre quarter-finals of the tournament.
Tags: