Chen Long overpowers Lee Chong Wei in Men’s Singles finals of 2012 Hong Kong Open
China’s prime shuttler Chen Long continued his successful run in the final round of Yonex Sunrise Hong Kong Open and claimed the Men’s Singles crown on Sunday, November 25, 2012.
He stamped the badminton king Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia by registering a favourable result of 21-19 and 21-17 in a 57-minute encounter.
However, it was not a smooth road to victory as he had to put an extra effort to wrap this showdown in just two games.
The Chinese campaigner, who holds second spot in the World ranking, did not show any sign of confusion in front of the superior Malaysian challenger.
Chen Long took some time to read his rival’s strategy in the opening game and remained equal on the points table in the establishing rallies.
Both contenders challenged each other in all areas of the game and neither of them could establish a notable lead until 6-6.
However, Chen Long blundered and allowed his competitor to finish the first half of the set with a respectable figure of 11.
World Number one Chong Wei ruled the court in the next couple of establishing rallies but then a few back-to-back mistakes weakened his grip.
The Malaysian maestro could not match his challenger’s speed on court and kept trailing behind all the way to game point situation.
Meanwhile, the young Chen Long mounted pressure with 17-14 and then magnified the impact with an overwhelming score of 21-19.
Next game, which proved decider later, started with couple of gruelling rallies as both shuttlers put all they had to gain an early advantage but Chen Long showed elevated craft and placed a decent margin of 7-2.
He did not lose focus at any stage and piled up a mountainous total of 11 before the interval. After the mid-game break, he employed all of his brilliance and widened the gap with a couple of consecutive points.
The Chinese shuttler looked at his best in the final moments as he unleashed a flurry of productive strokes and bagged nine out of ending 13 points.
Though, Chong Wei tried hard to tip the scale in his favour but he had to surrender after reading 17-21 score.
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