2012 Malaysia International Challenge: Lydia Cheah Li Ya strikes to claim Women’s Singles crown
Women’s Singles shuttler Lydia Cheah Li Ya played impeccable badminton and raised the trophy after beating Xiaoyu Liang in the final round of Maybank Malaysia International Challenge on November 18, 2012.
The talented Malaysian campaigner relished full benefits of home ground and wrapped this showdown in just two games.
She took just 30 minutes to register favourable figures of 21-17 and 21-12 in this crucial tussle which was staged in Kuching.
Lydia Cheah was bit sluggish in the beginning as she dropped many valuable points in first set but then a few back-to-back productive rallies provided her the required momentum.
The opposing shuttler Xiaoyu Liang played with great precision in the establishing rallies and gained a decent advantage with 6-2.
She did not drop her pace and widened the gap by gathering valuable points before the interval. She pushed her rival on the back-foot with few power packed smashes and placed a respectable margin of 11-8.
However, the Singaporean player could not go with the same flow after the one-minute break and squandered a golden opportunity to win this set.
On the other hand, the local shuttler showed elevated craft and tipped the scale in her favour. Lydia Cheah kick-started her campaign with six uninterrupted points and then made best out of this rhythm in third quarter of the set.
She maintained a notable difference and swept the table with a significant figure of 21-17.
The following game kept the audience glued to their chairs just until half time as it proved a one-sided affair after the interval.
Initially, both shuttlers stood toe-to-toe and did not allow each other to enjoy a permanent lead. They remained equal on the points table until 5-5 but then Lydia Cheah showed a transformed character and piled up an indomitable margin of 11-7.
She kept on moving forward at steady pace and dazzled Xiaoyu Liang with a lustrous performance.
At first, she put her challenger under huge pressure by registering 16-9 score on the board and then served notice of her potential with an impressive knock of 21-12.
This concluded the battle and Lydia Cheah emerged as Women’s Singles champion of Maybank Malaysia International Challenge.
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