Sho Sasaki beats Chen Jin to enter in men’s singles quarterfinal: 2011 Badminton Asia Championships
Japan’s ace-shuttler, Sho Sasaki, entered in the men’s singles quarter-final after beating the fifth seed Chen Jin of China in the round-of-16 of the 2011 Badminton Asia Championships, in China today on April 21.
The 11th seed, Sasaki, emerged as the winner in a three-set match that took 79 minutes of hard labour and top quality badminton. In the quarter-final, the Japanese will take on either the top seed Lin Dan of China or his younger team-mate Kai
Wen
Chen Jin was the favourite for this match, but Sasaki came with different things in mind. In the opening set of the match, Sasaki played tremendous badminton and quickly established a comfortable lead of 11-6 against the ruling world champion, Chen, who
remained struggling to find the momentum.
After the break, Sasaki didn’t lose his focus in the game and stretched his lead by reaching at 17-10. Chen changed his tactics to narrow the gap, but failed to stop the progressive run of the Japanese, who finished the first set in just 22 minutes with
a huge margin of 21-12.
The second set started with a thrilling fight from both sides and the score progressed with the same pace. Sasaki was very quick on the net and his defence was superb that put the aggressive Chinese in trouble. Chen, who is known for his attacking style,
became helpless against the quick Sasaki, who was leading the set with an 11-8 lead in the first half.
After the interval, Chen played better and levelled the score by reaching at 18-18. The crowd could not have asked for better game, as both shuttlers were playing superb badminton. The score was 20-20 where the Chinese scored two points in a row and won
the second set with a tight margin of 22-20, in 31 minutes.
The final set was a great test for both shuttlers, who were playing at the same pace. The score remained equal till 8-8 where Sasaki earned three consecutive points and took a lead of 11-7. After the break, the Japanese continued his positive play won the
final set with a 21-15 margin in 26. The closing score of this superb 70-minute match was, 21-12, 20-22 and 21-15.
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