Chen Jin keeps his hopes alive to qualify for 2012 Olympic Games
China’s elite player Chen Jin, who has been struggling hard to find a good rhythm, kept his hopes alive to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games as he finally grabbed a much needed title at last week’s Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold 2012, at Basel, Switzerland.
However, he needs to get into top-four bracket in Men’s Singles world rankings to qualify for Olympics as a country can have three spots in a category if it has all three players in top four positions in the world.
China’s Lin Dan and Chen Long are ranked at number two and three respectively in Men’s Singles world standings. In order to qualify for the mega event, Jin needs to supersede the current World Number Four Peter Hoeg Gade of Denmark.
In the title match of Swiss Open, the World Number Five Jin overpowered Korea’s Lee Hyun Il in a thrilling battle and claimed the Men’s Singles crown on Sunday, March 18.
It was the best match of the final day in which both shuttlers displayed their fabulous skills and entertained the crowd for 67 minutes by playing top quality badminton.
However, it was Jin who remained successful in the end as he managed to win this interesting contest in hard-fought three games.
In the opening set, Lee Hyun played remarkable badminton as he did not show any sign of slowing down the pace of rallies and remained in complete control.
On the other hand, Jin could not live up to expectations in the opening half of first game and remained far behind on the score board with a deficit of 5-11.
After the break, Lee Hyun continued his positive and attacking run in the game and did not let his higher ranked Chinese rival to level the score at any stage.
In the meanwhile, Jin committed many unforced errors and eventually lost the first set with a huge margin of 14-21.
Stung by the loss of first set, Jin powered his way back into the contest by playing flawless badminton in the second game. He played at his maximum speed and outplayed his experienced opponent in the first half by reaching 11-3.
After the break, the fourth seeded Chinese continued his roller-coaster performance and easily bagged the second set with an incredible 21-9 score on the board.
In the final game, both men were close in the opening half as they played at the same level. Until the break, the Chinese was slightly ahead of his Korean rival at 11-9.
After the break, Lee Hyun again managed to level the score at 13-13 but failed to set up lead as his opponent played to his maximum potential and started to build lead at this stage.
Jin played with wonderful precision and did not show any sign of dropping down the pace of rallies. He continued playing to his maximum potential and managed to win the second game with a decent score of 21-17.
Jin emerged as the Champion at Swiss Open as he managed to beat Lee Hyun in three games with an interesting 14-21, 21-9 and 21-17 score on the board.
With this victory, Jin keeps his hopes alive to qualify for 2012 Olympic Games as needs continue this winning streak and get into the top four positions in the world rankings to qualify for the mega event.
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