Malaysia Open Super Series: Lydia Li Ya Cheah proves her elevated skills
Malaysia’s Lydia Li Ya Cheah proves her elevated skills as she has delivered phenomenal performance in the Women’s Singles qualifying round of the Malaysia Open Super Series 2012. In her first match, the Malaysian ousted the higher ranked
P. V. Sindhu of India on Tuesday January 10, in Malaysia.
Lydia Cheah, who has been struggling hard to make her presence felt to the world for the last two years, has found a wonderful start in her qualifying-round contest against the higher ranked Sindhu, who was the third seed in qualifying draw of the tournament.
IT was a thrilling contest between two young shuttlers and they snapped each other’s heel in all three games of the match. However, it was Lydia Cheah who remained in complete control of the game and won the final set. She consumed 46 minutes in the court
to stamp her supremacy over the Indian.
Sindhu took the opening game with a decent margin but failed to stretch her winning performance in both following sets. Lydia Cheah came from one set down to win the remaining both games and emerged as the winner of this entertaining fight.
The opening set was not favourable for the local shuttler because Sindhu controlled the pace of the rallies and remained dominant. She played with precision and managed to maintain pressure on Lydia Cheah.
However, the Malaysian also showed her elevated skills and remained close until the final points of the first set. At this stage, Lydia Cheah lost her focus at net and eventually lost the set with a decent 17-21 score on the board.
In the following game, Lydia Cheah started to play aggressive and positive badminton and managed to push her Indian opponent on the back foot. She executed spinning shots at net which disturbed the flow of her rival.
On the other hand, Sindhu failed to dominate the rallies and also took the bird late from all areas. She lost her focus and control over the pace of game as her opponent was quicker in finishing the rallies. Lydia Cheah took the second game with a comfortable
difference of 21-16.
In the final set of this contest, the Indian injected more power in her shots and also increased her speed in all areas of the court. However, she failed to put pressure on Lydia Cheah who was playing fast and positive badminton. Until the break in the deciding
set, both ladies remained close.
After the break, the local player accelerated her speed and executed fast drop shots coupled with superb cross-court pushes and dominated the rallies. She remained successful in taking the final set with a 21-18 score on the board.
This Women’s Singles qualifying round encounter ended in 46 minutes with a 17-21, 21-16 and 21-18 margin score on the board.
The home crowd played a wonderful role in boosting the confidence of local shuttler, who also responded well and won the match. It was the first victory of the Lydia Cheah over Sindhu in a Super Series tournament, and with this win the Malaysian has got
precious points which will help her in the elevation of her world rankings.
This victory over the Indian in the first match of qualifying round will certainly become a confidence booster for Lydia Cheah and she is expected to continue her winning run in the upcoming matches of Malaysia Open.
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