Chen Long eases into Men’s Singles quarter-final at Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold 2012
China’s young shuttler Chen Long proved his elevated craft as he eased into Men’s Singles quarter-final after taming Japan’s Takuma Ueda in the round-of-16 at Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold 2012 on Thursday, March 15.
The World Number Three Long, who is the second seed in Men’s Singles draw, was in good form as he did not drop even a single game against Ueda and bagged the match in straight sets with a decent margin.
On the other hand, Ueda showed aggression in the game as he was quite composed in opening set and matched the speed of his rival but failed to play well in the ending points and lost the contest with a respectable margin in 54 minutes.
The opening set was thrilling as both men showed a wonderful aggression and kept the tempo of rallies at maximum level.
They remained close in the first half as no one could set up a comfortable lead until the one-minute break.
After the interval, Ueda showed his spirited play in the game as he employed powerful smashes and remained successful in setting up a remarkable lead of 15-12.
The Japanese remained on track by reaching 19-17 when Long changed his tactics and scored four points in a row to bag the first set. He took it with a close 19-21 score on the board.
In the second game, both men again played fast badminton and kept the crowd engaged with their spirited play.
They were in complete control of rallies until 6-6 when the Chinese took over the control and started to dictate the pace.
Until the 60-second interval in the first set, the higher ranked Long was going ahead of his Japanese rival by reaching at 11-9.
After the break, Ueda again showed his elevated run in the game as he managed to level the score at 12-12. However, he could not overpower his higher ranked rival who became aggressive at this stage.
Long became quicker and started to manipulate the loopholes of his opponent. He remained positive and won the second game with a four-point margin of 21-17.
The Chinese bagged this contest in two games by putting up a 21-19 and 21-17 score on the board.
Tags: