Li Xuerui outshines Sayaka Takahashi in semi-final round of 2013 Badminton Asia Championships
Women’s Singles expert Li Xuerui of China served notice of her dominance in the semi-final round and ensured her presence in the final round of Badminton Asia Championships on Saturday, April 20, 2013.
The Olympic champion Li Xuerui locked horns with a Japanese campaigner Sayaka Takahashi and their encounter lasted for 53 minutes before ending with a decisive result of 21-18, 18-21 and 21-12.
She prevailed in the opening and ending segments of the showdown and gained access to final round where a compatriot shuttler Wang Yihan is waiting for her.
Li Xuerui showed her intentions straight away in the beginning of first set as she ruled the court in the establishing rallies and gained an early advantage. She capitalised this lead in next couple of rallies and strengthened her grip over game.
On the other hand, the Japanese shuttler was not prepared for such an intensive attack as she remained grounded until half time.
However, Sayaka managed to rise on her toes immediately after the break and brought life back to the contest. She pocketed many valuable points and levelled the score.
At this point, Li Xuerui showed her class and swept the table with a tight yet decisive total of 21-18.
Next game started with the Chinese player making some fatal mistakes. She could not continue with her previous form and allowed the Japanese campaigner to bounce back into the contest.
Sayaka Takahashi did not squander this opportunity and laid foundation of her success by prevailing in few back-to-back rallies.
She played flawless badminton and finished first half of the set with a respectable score position. After the one-minute interval, she lost focus for a short span of time but then few productive rallies helped her to pile up a winning figure of 21-18.
With this development, third set became crucial as both shuttlers were looking to claim this final match point.
However, this time Li Xuerui did not make any mistake and dominated the decider from very stroke till the last one.
She maintained a significant difference of nine points and registered an overwhelming total of 21-12. With this win, she earned the right to be in the title match of Badminton Asia Championships.
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