Chen Long – A strong contender to win glory for China at the 2012 London Olympics
China’s impressive young shuttler, Chen Long has turned into one of the best shuttlers in the world of badminton. Through his phenomenal performances in recent events, he has sent a strong message to the world that he is amongst the top contenders to win
glory at the 2012 London Olympics.
The 22-year-old Long, who is currently placed at the Number 3 position in the Men’s Singles world standings, has been impressive throughout the current year as he defeated all top shuttlers on different occasions. His elevated skill in the game has made
him one of the most dominant forces in badminton.
In his first tournament of the current year, which was the BWF Super Series Finals, Long played well and reached in the semi-final of the tournament. In the following event of the 2011 Malaysia Open Super Series, Long repeated the result as he reached in
the top four. In the 2011 Korea Open Premier Super Series, the talented Chinese lost his match at the round-of-16 stage.
The Chinese also reached at the semi-final stage in the 2011 All England Open Premier Super Series and Badminton Asia Championships. He got the first victory in 2011 when he clinched Men’s Singles title at the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold. However, in the
next event of Singapore Open Super Series, he lost at the pre-quarter-final stage.
The impressive Long played well in the 2011 Indonesia Open Premier Super Series and finished in the top four by reaching in the Men’s Singles semi-final. However, he failed to produce the same form in the 2011 World Championships as he lost his match in
the first round of the mega event.
Long won his first major title in the current year when he won the China Masters Super Series. Then, he continued his winning run in the Japan Open Super Series where he surprisingly defeated World Number One, Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the final of the
tournament. His victory over the Malaysian was an evidence of his upgraded skills in all departments of the sport.
In the following tournament of Denmark Open Premier Super Series, the Chinese played incredible badminton and stretched his winning run in the major events as he won the title by beating Chong Wei again in the title match. This time he won the battle by
putting in less effort as he finished the final match in straight games.
In the following event of the 2011 French Open Super Series, Long failed to register his third consecutive win over Chong Wei as he lost to the World Number One in at the semi-final stage of the tournament. In the last month’s Hong Kong Open Super Series,
Long remained successful in reaching in the Men’s Singles semi-final and lost to his compatriot, Lin Dan.
In the last week’s China Open Premier Super Series, the young Chinese proved his mettle by reaching in the final of the tournament. He again lost the title match to his senior compatriot, Lin and finished the event as a runner-up.
The gradual improvement of Chen Long indicates that he has attained skills of the highest level and has grown into a major threat to top shuttlers including Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei, for the title at the 2012 London Olympics.
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