Biao Chai, Nan Zhang become Men’s Doubles champion in 2012 Li Ning China Masters
The scratch Men’s Doubles pair Biao Chai-Nan Zhang performed beyond expectations and unseated Hiroyuki Endo-Kenichi Hayakawa to raise the trophy in the Li Ning China Masters on September 16, 2012.
Though, this grand finale concluded in just two games but still both pairs entertained the crowd with a splendid show of skills while piling up decisive figures of 21-18 and 21-17.
The local badminton arena of Changzhou in China was filled to the brim as a huge crowd assembled to support the native shuttlers.
Biao Chai and Nan Zhang, who were underrated earlier in this Super Series, put a laudable effort and stunned the top seeded duo in this 39-minute tussle.
They set the foundation of their dominance straight away in the opening game and served notice of their supremacy by sealing a straight-set victory.
In the first set, World Number ten pair Hiroyuki-Kenichi kick-started their campaign in perfect fashion but they blundered in later part of the game which cost them a vital match point.
The Japanese campaigners established a decent lead by registering total of 6 but then their rivals prevailed in a couple of uninterrupted rallies and placed a mountainous margin of 11-7 before the interval.
After one-minute break, the Chinese shuttlers showed consistency in their performance and maintained the upper hand until the final moments.
Biao Chai and Nan Zhang, despite of their newly formed partnership, showed superb coordination and swept the table with a favourable result of 21-18.
The second set was full of drama as it kept swinging between two contenders until game point situation.
At first, the Japanese shuttlers were in a strong position and it felt they will easily avoid a straight-set defeat but then the opposing team turned the tables with a staggering knock.
The top seeded duo of the tournament Hiroyuki-Kenichi launched a brisk attack and pushed their competitors on the back-foot with couple of back-to-back points.
However, they faltered just before the mid-game break and allowed the Chinese players to put a respectable total of 11-8 at half time.
Biao Chai and Nan Zhang maintained this rhythm and raised hands as champions by putting a decisive figure of 21-17.
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