Badminton Asia Championships: Li Xuerui tames Xiao Jia Chen in Women’s Singles semi-final encounter
China’s in-form female shuttler Li Xuerui was in full swing when she toppled her lower ranked compatriot Xiao Jia Chen in Women’s Singles semi-final showdown at Badminton Asia Championships 2012 on Saturday, April 21, in China.
The World Number 4 Xuerui showed her aggression in the court and wrapped up the contest by beating her team-mate in straight games.
Xuerui has been working hard for the last six months and got superb results by playing remarkable badminton in major tournaments.
In the semi-final of Asia Championships, Xuerui proved her superiority in the court as she did not drop any game and thrashed her rival to secure her berth in the final of the tournament.
On the other hand, Xiao could not dominate the pace of rallies against her higher ranked compatriot and lost the match with a decent score on the board.
Both Chinese shuttlers showed a great performance in the opening points of first game and snapped each other’s heel by playing positive and aggressive badminton.
However, Xuerui utilised her experience and managed to control the pace of rallies while working fast at net.
The fourth seeded Xuerui out-manoeuvred her opponent by employing her impressive tactics and managed to take a reasonable lead until the mid-game break.
After the interval, Xuerui continued her sensational run in the court as she did not drop her speed and also kept her opponent struggling for every point.
The higher ranked Xuerui remained on track in the opening set and easily won it with a remarkable score of 21-15.
In the second game, Xiao changed her tactics from the opening points and managed to match the speed and aggression of her higher ranked compatriot.
Both ladies remained close until the end of opening half in second game.
After the break, they continued entertaining their home fans by playing to their maximum speed and kept the tempo of rallies quite fast.
The score reached at 20-20 when Xuerui employed impressive strokes and managed to bag the game with a 22-20 score on the board.
Xuerui emerged as the winner of first semi-final contest in 40 minutes with a decent score of 21-15 and 22-20.
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