Lin Dan crushes Hans Kristian Vittinghus to make the top eight of the German Open GP Gold
Lin Dan, the top shuttler from China, booked his place in the top eight of the German Open GP Gold 2011, by defeating Hans Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark, at Mulheim, Germany today. The top seed Chinese took only 39 minutes to throw the Danish out of the
event in a straight sets match in the round of 16.
In the quarterfinal, number one seed will meet the seventh seed Korean player, Wan Ho Shon, who defeated Dicky Palyama of Netherlands to enter the quarterfinal stage of the event.
The number one seed Chinese started the game in his usual style against Vittinghus, who outclassed the German player, Dieter Domke, in the previous round. The opening game progressed with equal pace as both players were close till 11-10. Lin took a good
lead in the start of the second half of the opening set and reached 15-11.
The Danish increased his speed and levelled the score at 18-18. At this crucial stage of the game, the Chinese became aggressive and kept the bird as low as possible by executing strong pushes and powerful smashes. This power play from the Chinese left no
room for Vittinghus to score more points. Lin won the set by a slight difference of 21-19.
The second set was a true highlight of the brilliance of the top seed. His shot selection and execution of the strokes was perfect. His powerful and accurate smashes on the side lines of the court together with the tumbling net shots were the skills that
dashed the hopes of the opponent. The Chinese scored five points in a row at the start of the second game and maintained the lead till the break, where the Danish was trailing behind by 6-11.
After the one minute break, Lin continued his control over the rallies and dictated the pace of the game in the remaining points. Vittinghus had no answer to the accuracy and sharp reflexes of the Chinese and lost the set by a big margin of 11-21. The number
one seed of the event won the match with a 21-19 and 21-11 score on the board.
Lin will be going into the quarterfinal stage of the tournament with the intent to win it all. Opponents from other brackets are also blazing a path in this tournament. The top seed has his work cut out for him but is likely to make it into the semi final
stages.
Tags: