Sung Ji Hyun ends her long wait of international title in 2012 Korea Open – Badminton Feature
Korea’s talented female shuttler Sung Ji Hyun represented her country in various international badminton tournaments in 2012 but she could not claim the crown. This long streak of failures brought her under fire and critics raised questions about her finishing
skills.
She had couple of semi-final round exits in Yonex Japan Open, Singapore Open, Indonesia Open and Yonex Australian Open GP Gold this year.
However, the Women’s Singles expert managed to give a strong statement about her potential in 2012 Korea Open and silenced all the critics. She remained invincible in this home event and claimed the top spot on victory stand.
This time God must be smiling at Ji Hyun as the World Number eight shuttler did not find any world class opponent throughout her race to glory and cruised to a splendid win. She opened her campaign with a straight-set victory over Chang Ya Lan of Chinese
Taipei.
It was her opening match in this GP Gold event and she alarmed all the contestants with a thundering performance. She finished this crucial match with a favourable result of 21-12 and 21-10 to ensure her presence in the pre quarter-finals.
The second round saw her swinging arms against the compatriot shuttler Jung Na Ra. Both players remained head-to-head for 50 minutes and made this a memorable contest.
Initially, Ji Hyun looked bit off colour as she had to sweat hard to pocket first match point with a tight margin of 24-22. She did not take much time to revive her lost form and stormed back with even more impressive style.
This time she did not give Na Ra enough time to get settled and trounced her with an overwhelming score of 21-12. This marvelous win led her to the quarter-finals where Jiayuan Chen was waiting for her.
In round of eight, Ji Hyun kick-started her campaign with full force and cornered the Indonesian player in all departments of the game. She laid foundation of her dominance straight away in the beginning and kept her opponent at the lower end until final
stage.
The prime Korean shuttler bagged opening match point with 21-10 score on the board and then served notice of her supremacy with 21-6 margin.
Her next challenger was Kim Ye Ji in the semi-final round and Ji Hyun continued her unbeatable run by wrapping this showdown in just two games. This short-lived battle proved her the real champion as the opposing shuttler was unable to understand her master
game plan.
She employed unusual tactics by keeping a low profile in the beginning and then stunned her rival with a staggering knock in latter part of the game. The 21-10 and 21-9 result was the proof her rule on the court.
This straight-set victory setup her next clash with Aprilla Yuswandari in the title match of this GP Gold event. Both contenders tested each other’s skills for 46 minutes and finally this nerve-racking tussle ended in Ji Hyun’s favour.
The Korean player took just two games to claim the Women’s Singles trophy and gave her supporters a solid reason to celebrate.
Now, when Ji Hyun has managed to bagged a long-awaited title, the Korean badminton lovers are expecting their national number one to stretch her winning streak in upcoming international events. It will be interesting to see her lifting this burden of expectations
in next season.
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