Korea Open Grand Prix Gold: Shon Wan Ho ousts Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif in Men’s Singles semi-final
Korea’s passionate shuttler, Shon Wan Ho has entered into Men’s Singles final after thrashing Malaysia’s young shuttler, Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif in the semi-final showdown of the 2011 Korea Open Grand Prix Gold, on Saturday, December 10, in Korea.
The World Number 22, Wan Ho, who has been placed at number 6 in the Men’s Singles draw of the Korea Open, played attacking badminton and tamed the emerging Malaysian in two games without facing any resistance. Arif failed to continue his winning run against
the home favourite, Wan Ho and lost the match in just 30 minutes.
Arif played well in the opening rallies of the first set but failed to maintain the speed as match progressed. Wan Ho took over the control of the game and won it with a convincing score. In the following set, the Korean sailed smoothly in the game and finished
it up with a completely one-sided score on the board.
On paper, the 6th seed Wan ho was the favourite for this semi-final match as he has been playing remarkable badminton in the whole tournament. He opened the first set in style against the spirited Malaysian, who also played aggressively in the
opening rallies.
Shon Ho established his control over the rallies as the match progressed and started to dictate the pace of the game. He played with precision and spared no chance for the Malaysian to control the pace. His impressive strokes were finding the right areas
of his opponent’s court. The Korean took the opening set with a remarkable difference of 21-14.
The second game was a smooth sailing for the Korean as the Malaysian completely failed to play fast game. Wan ho took a superb lead in the opening half of the set and maintained it throughout the game without facing any problem from his Malaysian challenger.
Wan Ho won the second game in style by putting up a striking 21-10 score on the board. The overall result of this Men’s Singles semi-final contest was 21-14 and 21-10.
In the final of the event, Wan Ho will take on the winner of the second semi-final between China’s Chen Jin and Korea’s Lee Hyun Il.
Tags: