Sung Ji Hyun fails to make an impact in 2012 China Open – Badminton Feature
Korea’s prime female shuttler Sung Ji Hyun was expected to raise her country’s flag in the Li Ning China Open but she failed to live up to her billing and disappointed her supporters by crashing out of the opening round.
World Number nine Ji Hyun, who was placed at the seventh spot in tournament ranking, knelt down in front of an unseeded Thai campaigner Sapsiree Taerattanachai and bid farewell to this prestigious event.
Though, she struggled to revive her lost form in the first set but still she managed to pocket the opening match point.
However, the following games were a sheer disappointment for the Korean lady as she could not come out of her bad patch which ultimately led her to a woeful exit.
The 21-year-old Ji Hyun, who was in high spirits after a quarter-final round entry in 2012 Denmark Open, looked a bit off colour this time as she stayed at the lower end in most part of her first encounter in the China Open.
First sign of trouble came when she let many valuable points slip from her hands in first half of the opening game. Her challenger Sapsiree did not squander this opportunity and gained an early advantage with ease.
The Thai shuttler prevailed in couple of uninterrupted rallies and strengthened her grip way before the interval. At this stage, Ji Hyun switched on her best and managed to finish the first half with a respectable score position.
After the one-minute break, she picked up some pace and made a significant difference on the points table. She kept on moving forward without any interruption and won this crucial set with 21-18 margin.
However, this proved her last success in this Super Series tournament as she failed to rise from the dust in the following games.
Ji Hyun looked exhausted after the gruelling first set as she could not move swiftly across the court in the beginning of the second set and allowed Sapsiree to establish an unassailable lead with 6-1 total.
The lower ranked but talented Thai player capitalised her opponent’s blunders and doubled the lead with few productive rallies. She lost focus for a short span of time just before half time but then a flurry of well placed strokes helped her to reinstate
her dominance.
At first, Sapsiree levelled the score with 15-15 and then bagged six out of ending nine points to avoid a straight-set defeat.
This revised status subjected the Korean shuttler to a tough trial as now she was hanging by a thread to stay alive. Though, Ji Hyun made every effort to tip the scale in her favour but she could not hit the mark.
Initially, she remained equal until 6-6 but then few back-to-back mistakes triggered the collapse. She kept trailing behind her challenger until 6-11 before the one-minute break. Later part of the game saw her showing some spark but that short campaign was
not enough to make amends.
Ji Hyun could not come out of a four-point deficit and surrendered after reading 17-21 score on the board. This was a wrap and she had to draw a blank from 2012 Li Ning China Open despite of being one of the hot favourites.
Keeping in mind her recent failures, the Korean youngster should be more concerned about her mental strength rather than of physical fitness as she fails to rise on her toes in the pressure situations.
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