Lin Dan tames Sho Sasaki in Men’s Singles semi-final of Korea Open Premier Super Series
China’s impressive player, Lin Dan, proves his impressive skills as he has shut out Japan’s Sho Sasaki in the Men’s Singles semi-final showdown at the Korea Open Premier Super Series 2012 on Saturday, January 7, in South Korea.
The reigning World and Olympic Champion and World Number Two, Lin, who is the second seed in the Korea Open, proved that he is touching the highest level of Badminton. He did not face any problem in the semi-final encounter and emerged as the winner in straight
games.
The World Number Six Sasaki played competitive badminton in the semi-final contest but failed to match the speed and skill of his higher ranked Chinese opponent and bowed down without taking even a single game.
Lin worked a little hard in the opening game and took it with a decent score. However, the second game was a completely free ride for him as he finished it with a one-sided score.
In the first set, both players showed their class by playing at the same level. Sasaki, who is known for his fantastic strokes, played impressive badminton by matching the speed of his rival and remained equal until the score reached at 6-6.
At this stage, Lin increased his speed and started to take the bird early from all areas. He anticipated the strokes of his lower ranked Japanese opponent and managed to reach at 11-7 until the one-minute interval in the opening set.
After the break, Lin continued his fast play and kept his opponent moving in all corners. Sasaki was lacking the impressive touch in his strokes as he could not place shots in the right areas.
Moreover, the speed of Lin was just uncontrollable for the Japanese shuttler. The Chinese took the first game with a 21-16 score on the board.
In the second game, Lin established his supremacy in the game from the starting points and maintained pressure on Sasaki throughout the game. He committed no mistake in the game and did not face any considerable resistance from the Japanese challenger.
The Chinese ace ended the second game with a 21-14 score. The final result of this Men’s Singles semi-final contest was 21-16 and 21-14.
In the title match, Lin will face his arch-rival Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, who has hammered Du Peng Yu of China in a straight-set semi-final contest.
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