Lee Chong Wei’s road to glory at the 2012 Korea Open Premier Super Series
Malaysia’s World Number One, Lee Chong Wei, who is widely regarded as the most hardworking and dedicated shuttler in the world of badminton, could not have expected for a better start in the current year as he has nailed Men’s Singles title at the 2012 Korea
Open Premier Super Series.
His victory in the event was even sweeter because he overpowered his nemesis and ruling World and Olympic Champion, Lin Dan of China, who is considered the best player in the history of badminton. With this win, the Malaysian took revenge of his defeat as
he lost to Lin in the final match of the last edition of Korea Open in January, 2011.
Stung by the loss of many tournaments in the last four months, Chong Wei started the New Year in a positive and aggressive fashion. He put the disappointment of his defeats behind and started the 2012 in a fabulous fashion.
In Korea Open, the 29-year-old Chong Wei opened his campaign, at the indoor arena in Seoul, in an impressive manner. He played his opening match against Chinese Taipei’s Hsuan Yi Hsueh. The top seeded Malaysian proved that he is one class above his opponent
and won the battle in a comprehensive way by a margin of 21-11 and 21-16.
In the second round, which was the round-of-16, Chong Wei was up against Shon Wan Ho of Korea. The Korean played surprising badminton as he matched the speed and skill of Chong Wei and stretched him to a rubber-set contest. However, the top seed managed
to dominate the game in the deciding set and won the match with a margin of 13-21, 21-14 and 21-15.
Chong Wei was taking on Japan’s Kenichi Tago at the quarter-final stage of the event. The top seed again proved his impressive skill as he ousted his Japanese opponent with a decent score of 21-18 and 21-17. Tago failed to win even a single game as his Malaysian
rival was perfect in all aspects of the game.
In the semi-final contest, Du Pengyu was the opponent of Chong Wei. Many expected for a tough fight between these two shuttlers but the top seeded Malaysian showed that he is the best in business as he punished the Chinese in straight games with a completely
one-sided and comprehensive score of 21-8 and 21-13.
In the title match of Korea Open, Chong Wei was facing his arch rival Lin, who has been defeating the Malaysian shuttler in important matches. The Chinese shuttler won the opening game in an impressive way but Chong Wei lifted up his level of play and took
the remaining two games and won the match with a 12-21, 21-18 and 21-14 score on the board.
Rashid Sidek and Tey Seu Bock, the coaches of Chong Wei, were happy and satisfied with his performance against Lin in the final contest of the tournament.
Said Rashid, “It is rare to see Lin Dan losing his focus but today he did. And this is all due to Chong Wei’s superb comeback. He did well to change and vary his game to make Lin Dan very uncomfortable today.”
Seu Bock also expressed, “Credit should be given to Chong Wei for the hard work he put in today. This win will be a big boost to his morale. Of course, Lin Dan and his other team-mates will come back stronger at the Malaysia Open but if there is one place
where it is difficult to beat Chong Wei, it is on his home ground.”
Chong Wei has won the opening tournament of 2012 and seems determined to continue his impressive run in the upcoming tournaments. His major target in current year is to win the gold medal in the 2012 Olympic Games, which will take place in London from the
last week of July.
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