Chen Long tames Kenichi Tago to move into semi-finals of 2012 BWF Superseries Finals
China’s badminton ace Chen Long lived up to his billing in the group stage of BWF Superseries Finals and clinched a spot in the Men’s Singles semi-final round on December 14, 2012.
He overwhelmed Kenichi Tago in a hard fought battle that prolonged to three segments before ending with final figures of 21-15, 14-21 and 21-15.
World Number two Chen Long locked the honour by winning the opening and ending segments of the showdown.
On the other hand, the Japanese player looked out of touch in most part of the game and bid farewell to this prestigious event in a woeful manner.
The battle heated up immediately in the beginning as the Chinese campaigner did not give his rival enough time to get settled and confounded him with an intensive attack.
He played masterly in the establishing rallies and gained a decent advantage with an impressive figure of seven.
Next couple of rallies saw him making a swift progress on points table and this momentum helped him to pile up a respectable total of 11.
After the mid-game break, Chen Long played flawless badminton and bagged first match point with scoreboard flashing 21-15 margin in his favour.
However, things were not that much easy in the following game as Kenichi Tago showed a transformed character and brought the contest to right balance.
The Japanese player, currently World Number five, made his intentions clear by claiming many valuable points in the beginning.
He did not show any sign of confusion and played with great precision throughout this crucial set. He established a notable lead with 7-4 and then strengthened his grip by piling up an indomitable margin of 11.
The latter part of game was also dominated by Kenichi as he did not give his competitor even a single counterattack opportunity and placed a winning score of 21-14.
Third set became critical with this development and both contenders made every effort to claim this final match point.
However, Chen Long displayed superior finishing skills and sealed his victory with a significant margin of 21-15.
Now he will lock horns with Hu Yun in the semi-final round of this prestigious badminton tournament.
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