London Olympics: A final round entry for Zhang Nan, Zhao Yunlei in Mixed Doubles event
Mixed Doubles experts Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei ensured their presence in the title match after stamping Joachim Fischer-Christinna Pedersen in the semi-finals of London Olympics at Wembley Arena on August 2, 2012.
This hard fought battle kept both pairs head-to-head for three exhausting sets before ending with final result of 17-21, 21-17 and 21-19.
World Number one Chinese duo, who is also top seeded team in this mega event, came back from behind and sealed a splendid victory despite of receiving severe blow in the opening game.
Meanwhile, the Danish couple put a fluctuated performance throughout this crucial encounter and faced a woeful exit from the London Games.
The twosome of Joachim and Christinna took off in perfect manner and soared high in the opening game of the match.
They made their intentions clear straight away in the beginning when they prevailed in couple of uninterrupted rallies.
They did not drop this pace and gathered valuable points to finish first as leading contenders. They placed a decent total of 11 before the announcement of mid-game break.
After the interval, Zhang and Zhao made swift progress but they could not catch their rivals until concluding margin of 17-21.
However, they did not stay down and made amends with a staggering knock in the very next game. They employed all of their brilliance and snatched second match point in an impressive manner.
The first half started with couple of gruelling rallies as both teams were looking to gain an initial advantage but the Chinese displayed superior badminton skills and made the difference with a few back-to-back points.
They dictated their challengers all the way to half time and placed a mountainous total of 11 on the points table.
Later part of the game also belonged to them as they maintained a decent lead until favourable figure of 21-17.
This revised match score position brought life back into contest and both contenders entered in the decider with one win each.
They remained equal in most part of the final set but then Zhang and Zhao struck hard when it mattered and smacked their opponents with 21-19 margin.
Now they will be up against the compatriot duo Xu Chen-Ma Jin in final match of Mixed Doubles event.
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