All England Open: Lin Dan tames Wei Feng Chong to surge into Men’s Singles quarter-final
China’s ace player Lin Dan proved his authority in the arena as he surged into Men’s Singles quarter-final after taming Malaysia’s Wei Feng Chong in reound-of-16 encounter at All England Open Premier Super Series 2012 in Birmingham, on Thursday, March 8.
The ruling Olympic and World Champion Lin, who is currently World Number Two and second seed in the tournament, played his normal game and overpowered his lower ranked Malaysian rival without facing any considerable resistance.
The Chinese, who is known for his attacking play and incredible speed in the court, played in a relaxed manner and took just 35 minutes to chuck out Wei Feng who could not cope up with the power and perfection of his higher ranked rival.
In the first set, Wei Feng matched the speed of his Chinese opponent by playing to his best speed.
He showed a considerable improvement in his skills as he earned a few points by executing wonderful strokes and remained close to Lin until the one-minute break.
After the break, Lin became quicker at net and also played with precision. He employed wonderful deceptive shots and remained successful in breaking the rhythm of his Malaysian opponent.
The Chinese ace completely controlled the pace of rallies in the concluding phase of first set and bagged it with a comfortable 21-13 score on the board.
In the second game, Wei Feng put up good show as he played attacking badminton while remaining positive. He was close to his rival until the one-minute break.
After the interval, the lower ranked Malaysian continued his better play and surprisingly took a wonderful lead of 15-11.
However, he could not maintain it as Lin became aggressive and quicker in taking the bird from all areas of the court.
Lin levelled the score at 15-15 and continued his attacking play. He won the second game with a 21-16 score on the board.
The Chinese emerged as the winner of this 35-minute straight-set battle with a comfortable margin of 21-13 and 21-16.
In the quarter-final showdown, Lin will be up against Indonesia’s Taufik Hidayat who stunned Chen Jin of China in another pre-quarter-final contest.
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