China’s Xuerui Li beats Jiang Yanjiao to clinch Women’s Singles title in the Thailand Open GP Gold
China’s Xuerui Li has clinched the Women’s Singles title after beating her team-mate, Jiang Yanjiao, in the final showdown of the Thailand Open GP Gold 2011, in Thailand. The encounter was held on Sunday, June 12.
The seventh seed, Xuerui, played mature badminton in the 57-minute three-set title battle and overwhelmed the higher ranked compatriot, Yanjiao, who defeated Shao Chieh Cheng of Chinese Taipei in the semi-final fight.
The World Number 16, Xuerui, opened her first game in quivering fashion as she played many wrong shots in the starting phase of the match. The second seed, Yanjiao, who is the World Number Six in the Women’s Singles world rankings, played smart badminton
with superb precision.
Xuerui failed to find her momentum in the first set as she was picking the bird very late, allowing her opponent to dominate the game. She lost the first set by a one-sided margin of 10-21, in 16 minutes.
In the second game, Xuerui made an impressive comeback in the match by playing remarkably well. Right from the start of the set, she controlled proceedings to her will and made Yanjiao work hard for every single point.
Xuerui made no mistake in finishing the strokes whenever she found an opportunity. Her defence and drives were perfect, which kept Yanjiao struggling to pick the bird early and place strokes on the right places. Xuerui won the game by a difference of 21-12,
in 20 minutes.
The third and final set was almost identical to the previous one, where the seventh seed continued her impressive run and reached 11-7 by playing in an attacking manner. After exchanging the court, Xuerui remained positive throughout the set against a shaky
Yanjiao, who threw away many points by hitting the bird in the net or wide of the sidelines.
Xuerui concluded the third game by a decent margin of 21-14, in 21 minutes. The 57-minute rubber-set final battle ended with the victory of Xuerui, by a score of 10-21, 21-12 and 21-14.
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