Lee Chong Wei is one step away from hat-trick All England title – Badminton News
The Malaysian badminton ace Lee Chong Wei is standing just one step away from a hat-trick All England title as he outclassed Lee Hyun-Il of Korea in the semi-final on March 10, 2012.
The World Number one Chong Wei is eyeing to follow the success of late Wong Peng Soon who is the only Malaysian to have the honour of a hat-trick in the All England Open back in the early fifties.
Chong Wei dazzled the Korean shuttler Lee Hyun-Il with his lustrous performance in semi-final of the Men’s singles event. He secured his spot in the final by sealing the straight-set victory with 21-19 and 21-18 score on the board.
Lee Hyun-Il, despite losing the match, earned a great deal of admiration for his badminton skills as the Malaysian maestro had to stretch himself to full for 44 minutes.
After clearing the second last hurdle, Lee Chong Wei vowed to elevate his physical fitness along with his tactical strength.
He said, "I was well prepared today, but I have to improve my attacking. I woke up with some pain in my hand today, but I managed to play through it all right."
Both semi-finalists exhibited their prime class which kept the spectators glued to their chairs. The Korean excelled on score board with a four-point lead earlier in first set but Chong Wei’s hostile backlash changed the story with a final score of 21-19
in the Malaysian’s favour.
Chong Wei took a great start in the second set but the resistance was even greater from the Korean as he caught Chong Wei after making a swift progress from 9-18 to 16-18 on the score board.
However, Chong Wei woke up in time and put his rival’s expedition to halt. He did not spare any loop hole for the Korean contender Lee Hyun-Il and showed his brilliance and experience in the game.
Lee Chong Wei buried his opponent’s hopes by registering final score of 21-18 on the score board.
This concluded his straight-set victory in semi-final and he moved within one win to complete his hat-trick in the World’s oldest Open.
Chong Wei will now face his Chinese arch rival "super" Lin Dan at the judgment day of All England Open on March 11, 2012.
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