Lee Chong Wei wins National Circuit Grand Prix to bag 9th consecutive title
The National Circuit Grand Prix has ended with continuous dominance of Lee Chong Wei in the game of badminton.
Muhammad Arif Abdul Latif also came out as a leader when he reached the final. Luck favoured him too during his semi-final clash with tournament favourite Chun Seang.
Chun Seang was expected to give a tough time to world number one Lee Chong Wei. But luck did not stand by Chun Seang and a back injury saw him dropping out of the tournament during the semi-final against Arif Abdul Latif.
Muhammad Arif Abdul Latif said in an interview at the end of the match that reaching the finals had been a surprise for him as he had expected only to reach the semi-finals, but Chun Seang’s injury had helped him reach the final. He faced world number 1
Lee Chong Wei in the final and was completely overwhelmed by him.
The 35-minute final was a one-sided affair as Wei easily beat Abdul Latif in straight sets of 21-15, 21-16. The game was important for both players, especially for Wei as it was his ninth consecutive title. Wei says he is now aiming for a tenth title and
will head to the All-England Championship that is scheduled to start from 3rd March in Birmingham.
Arif Abdul Latif was happy about the game and though he lost, said he was happy the match had provided him an opportunity to face the world number 1 and improve his game. He said he had trained well before the tournament under the guidance of Hendrawan,
a former Chinese legend. He had improved a lot and was ready to face the world number 1 again.
Abdul Latif said he had tried to give his best in the match but Wei was in great form and too good to be toppled easily. Wei played in his trademark style and won the game. The match was a tutorial for the youngster Abdul Latif.
At the end of the match, Lee Chong Wei said he had provided the youngster a couple of chances only to keep him alive in the game and to help him learn as much as he could in the game. He praised Abdul Latif, saying the youth’s game had improved a lot and
matured since the last time the two had met. The last encounter between the two had been in the Perak semi-final where Wei had taken only 23 minutes to do away with Abdul Latif.
The women’s matches also brought interesting results. Title defender Tee Jing Yi maintained her dominance and beat Sonia Cheah in the final. The tough-fought match went on for more than 50 minutes.
Sonia Cheah took the first set with 14-21 points on the table, but then the defender turned the tables in her favour by winning the next two sets 21-15 and 21-14.
The National Circuit Grand Prix ended with dominance of former champions and training for the young players.
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