London Olympics: Wang Xin outshines Ratchanok Intanon to secure berth in semi-final round
China’s Wang Xin put in an extra effort in the quarter-finals against Ratchanok Intanon and earned the right to be in the semi-final round of London Olympics on Thursday, August 2, 2012.
This hard fought battle was staged at Wembley Arena and both Women’s Singles experts kept the audience intact with their breath-taking performance in three exhausting sets.
World Number two shuttler Wang Xin came back from a horrendous start and locked the honour with a favourable result of 17-21, 21-18 and 21-14.
On the other hand, the Thai campaigner squandered a golden opportunity of straight-set win and crashed out of the mega event.
The second seeded Chinese player will now lock horns with compatriot shuttler Li Xuerui to qualify for the title match of London Games.
This showdown is going to be a feast for the eyes as Li will be utilising all of her brilliance in the game while Wang Xin will employ her confidence which she has earned through an unbeatable run in previous rounds.
In round of eight, Wang Xin had a cautious start but she managed to save the honour by claiming the last two match points.
The battle heated up when lower ranked Thai campaigner stunned her with gutsy performance in opening set.
Ratchanok, who was placed at the ninth spot in the tournament ranking, did not give her competitor enough time to get settled and unseated her with a staggering knock of 21-17.
She maintained this momentum in the second set and dictated the opposing shuttler throughout the first half.
She was leading with a notable difference in 15-9 but then her heel began to give her some pain and put her expedition to halt as she could not step forward.
The Chinese shuttler did not miss this opportunity and bounced back with a strong reply. She caught her challenger in third quarter of the set and then left her far behind with a respectable margin of 21-18.
Wang Xin did not lose this touch and outclassed Ratchanok also in the decider. She established an early advantage and then maintained the upper hand all the way to the final moments.
She finished this battle with 21-14 score on the board and marched into semi-finals of London Olympics.
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