Li Xuerui stuns Wang Yihan in final of All England Open – Badminton News
The Chinese female shuttler Li Xuerui stunned her compatriot Wang Yihan in the Women’s singles final of All England Open on March 11, 2012.
The Chinese Xuerui was ranked very low as compared to her top seeded opponent finalist but she overshadowed the World Number one female shuttler Wang Yihan with a straight-set 21-13 and 21-19 victory.
Xuerui has been a different character after winning the German Open last week and she used her self confidence at the judgment day of All England Open as well. The Chinese female Champion Li Xuerui was over the moon after grabbing the World’s oldest badminton
title.
She said, “This is my greatest win and it is very important to me. It’s a famous title, and different from the other Super Series. I want to take it step by step but I may become World No 4 after this.”
The losing contender Wang Yihan had nerve-racking quarter-final before the exhausting 89 minute semi-final and World Number five Chinese Li Xuerui seized full benefits of her rival’s low energy.
The 21-year-old Xuerui showed her intentions straight away in the opening set when she hammered her compatriot rival with a significant margin of 21-13. The final blow was in the second set when she sealed the crown by registering final figures of 21-19
on the score board.
The World Champion Wang Yihan, who also bagged the All-England Title three years ago, expressed her disappointment after losing the prestigious honour as she was hoping to bag the best this year.
She said, “I felt confident about winning. And I really hoped to be the winner.”
She was the favourite to win the title but her performance was inconsistent in the final as there were some moments when she made the spectators gasp but they were very few and more were the points when she turned her head away in disappointment.
The new All England Champion Li Xuerui was a treat to watch when she bounced back in second set from 5-13 and ended the battle in her favour.
Meanwhile, Lin Dan and the duo of Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei also bagged the crowns for China in the Men’s singles and Women’s doubles events respectively.
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