Korea Open Premier Super Series: Lee Chong Wei struggles against Shon Wan Ho in round-of-16
The World Number One, Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, had to dig into his arsenal to produce better strokes to win against Korea’s Shon Wan Ho in the Men’s Singles round-of-16 at the Korea Open Premier Super Series 2012, at Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday, January
5.
Chong Wei, who is the top seed in the tournament, played shaky badminton in the opening game and lost it with a one-sided difference. However, he bounced back in the second game and won it to level the score.
In the deciding game, the Malaysian showed no respect to his opponent and took the game with a comfortable score.
The top seed had to struggle hard in the opening set of the match where he could not find his flow. He also failed to take benefit from his cross-court jumping smashes as his opponent was quicker in taking the bird. Wan Ho played tremendous badminton in
the opening half and managed a good lead.
After the interval, the local shuttler cheered the home fans with his impressive play as he remained on track and did not spare any chance for the top seed to occupy the driving seat.
Chong Wei could not stop the progress of the Korean and lost the set with a surprising score of 13-21.
In the following game, the Malaysian changed his tactics and played at an incredible speed. He took the bird early from all areas and pushed Wan Ho in all areas.
Chong Wei’s powerful smashes also landed in the right areas of the court and he managed to level the score by taking the second game with a convincing score of 21-14.
In the final set of the match, the Korean tried to play well in the opening half and also remained close until the one-minute interval. However, Chong Wei took over the control and started to dictate the pace of rallies.
Chong Wei remained focused in the game and finished up the game with a remarkable score of 21-15. This superb three-set contest ended in 69 minutes with a 13-21, 21-14 and 21-15 score on the board.
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