Korea casts out Germany to secure berth in semi-final round – Thomas Cup Update
Korea is just two steps away from glory in Thomas Cup Finals after marching into semi-finals by overpowering Germany in Wuhan on May 23, 2012.
This quarter-final match proved a one-sided affair as Korean shuttlers ruled the court and stole the limelight with a winning margin of 3-0.
On the other hand, German campaigners could not live up to their billing and crashed out after losing three consecutive games.
The seasoned Men’s Singles expert Lee Hyun Il provided the breakthrough by snatching the first match point from Marc Zwiebler.
However, it was not a smooth road for victorious shuttler as he had to sweat hard for 67 minutes to seal a 2-1 victory over lower ranked challenger.
Though, World Number seven Lee Hyun Il launched a swift attack in opening set and swept the table with a notable five-point difference in 21-16 but he could not go with the same flow in following set of the match.
The German contender Marc Zwiebler brought life back into contest with an electrifying performance in second segment of the show.
This time he did not spare any loophole and maintained an upper hand until game point situation. He placed concluding figure of 21-18 and setup a nerve-racking decider.
However, patience was the key to success in this epic tussle as Korean maestro stayed calm despite of losing second set and outclassed his competitor in decider by putting final margin of 21-14.
In following game, the Men’s Doubles experts Ko Sung Hyun and Yoo Yeon Seong doubled the celebration by stamping rival duo Ingo Kindervater-Johannes Schoettler.
The German pair was no comparison to World Number four duo who sealed a straight-set victory in just 32 minutes.
Sung Hyun and Yeon Seong forged a fruitful partnership as they first bagged opening set with 21-19 score and then wrapped the show by registering significant total of 21-11 in second set.
This 2-0 lead mounted pressure and second Singles campaigner Shon Wan Ho of Korea ended third game by entering 22-20 and 21-19 margin in score log.
Now Korea will lock horns with Denmark to secure a berth in title match of the Thomas Cup Finals.
Tags: