Sho Sasaki’s sets up a semifinal clash against Lee Chong Wei in the Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold 2011
The Japanese ace shuttler, Sho Sasaki is set to meet Lee Chong Wei in the semifinal of the Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold 2011. The 11th seed, Sasaki is determined to continue his superb run of form and give Chong Wei a run for his money in their
semifinal, set to take place on Saturday, May 7.
In the quarterfinal, Sasaki took 50 minutes to get rid of Park Sung Hwan of Korea, in a three-set fight. He lost the opening set with a huge margin of 12-21 against the mighty Korean. However, he fought back in the match and clinched the second game by a
more convincing margin of 21-8. In the final set, Sasaki remained ahead of the opponent and finished it up 21-16 to earn a semifinal berth.
While talking about Chong Wei, who will be his opponent in the quarterfinal, Sasaki said, “I am nowhere near Chong Wei’s standard. It will be great if I can give him a good fight,” said Sasaki.
He further added, “I will try and try until I get it right. This is what I have been doing with my game lately.”
Chong Wei appreciated the performance of the Japanese and said, “Sasaki won the Australia Open recently. He has also beaten some big names. He will be a dangerous one and I will have to be wary of him.”
Chong Wei, who has already won four titles in 2011, will have a tough opponent in his way to the fifth title of the proceeding year. The consistent performance of Sasaki has made him a major contender in all important badminton events. The Malaysian’s most
recent men’s singles title was the Australia Open Grand Prix Gold 2011, which he won in April this year.
In the men’s singles quarterfinal, Chong Wei defeated Brice Leverdez of France. The top seed spent only 35 minutes on court to crush the French in a straight-game match. The Malaysian won the first set in 20 minutes by a difference of 21-17.
In the second game, Chong Wei geared up and finished the set in just 15 minutes with a 21-8 margin.
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