Korea’s Lee Hyun Il trounces China’s Chen Jin in semi-final of the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold
Korea’s Lee Hyun Il has ousted China’s Chen Jin in a three-set Men’s Singles semi-final match of the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold 2011, at Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday, June 11.
The opening set was the proof of the high quality of both shuttlers, as they were close until the middle of the second-half of the first game. At the ending phase of the opening set, it was the Chinese who delivered a better performance and won the set by
a difference of 21-18, in 22 minutes.
In the second game, the fourth seed continued his excellent play against the Korean, who was not far behind as the score progressed closely.
The Chinese, who is also the World Number 11 in the rankings, was leading the game with a slight margin of 11-9 at the end of the opening part of the second set. He was ahead at 13-10, when the Korean increased his speed and quality of the game to level
the score at 13-13.
He continued his impressive run and established a surprising lead of 17-13. The Korean stunned his opponent by winning the second game in an incredible fashion, with a 21-18 score in 24 minutes.
Stung by the second set, the roaring Chinese came into the court with aggression in the third set. His powerful smashes destroyed Lee Hyun’s defence, who found himself helpless against the perfect stroke placement of the Chinese. Chen created a difference
of 8-2 in a flash.
Lee Hyun gradually raised his speed and drew near to his opponent by reaching 8-11. After exchanging the court in the third set, the Chinese extended his lead to 16-11. The Korean levelled the score at 16-16, after a stunning comeback into the game.
The Korean played some superb strokes in the end and bagged the set with a 22-20 margin, in 33 minutes. The final score of the 79-minute three-set match was, 18-21, 21-18 and 22-20.
In the final, Lee Hyun Il will fight against the top seed, Chen Long of China, who defeated Korea’s Sung Hwan Park in the semi-final of the event.
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