Chen Long beats Sung Hwan Park to book his place in final of the Thailand Open GP Gold 2011
China’s Chen Long has booked his place in the Men’s Singles final after beating Sung Hwan Park of Korea, in the a straight-set semi-final battle at the Thailand Open GP Gold 2011, in Bangkok. The encounter was held on Saturday, June 11.
It was a battle of the titans, as both experienced shuttlers have achieved a certain level of skills by playing at the international level. The start of the match was quite interesting, where the top seeded Chinese, who is known for his powerful smashes
and strong pushes, started to play aggressively. On the other hand, the Korean played a mixed game by employing smashes, net shots, pushes and drives.
World Number Four, Chen, managed a 7-3 lead in a flash by playing a perfect attacking game. Both players were trying to push each other in all corners of the court by picking the bird as early as possible. The Chinese was playing better badminton, as he
left no room for the Korean to place his shots.
Park tried to return the powerful down the line smashes of his challenger, who was playing at a higher pace. At the interval, Chen was successful in building up a five-point gap by reaching 11-6.
After the break, the top seed remained consistent in his advancement and reached at 15-8. Park struggled hard to control the pace of the game, as his rival was not letting the speed fall down. The Korean then lifted up his speed and reduced the gap to 14-18.
Despite a spirited effort from Park, the Chinese finished the set in 20 minutes with a 21-15 margin.
The following game displayed the skills of both shuttlers, as they were close until the 5-5 mark. The speed of the game was incredible, as the movement of the contestants was very fast. At the interval, Chen was three points ahead of the Korean at 11-8.
The Chinese continued his control over the match by playing remarkable badminton. He created a huge gap of seven points by surging to 17-10 against the Korean, who failed to produce an impressive game. The top seed finished the second set by a 21-13 score,
in 30 minutes. The concluding result of this 50-minute match was 21-15 and 21-13.
In the final of the event, Chen Long will take on either the team-mate Chen Jin or Lee Hyun il of Korea.
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