Sung Ji Hyun tames Hsiao Ma Pai in Women’s Singles semi-final of the Chinese Taipei Open GP Gold
Korea’s passionate shuttler, Sung Ji Hyun storms into the Women’s Singles final after chopping Chinese Taipei’s Hsiao Ma Pei in the semi-final showdown of the 2011 Chinese Taipei Open GP Gold, in Chinese Taipei, on Saturday, September 10.
World Number 12 ranked shuttler, Ji Hyun, who is seeded at number four in the Women’s Singles draw, proved her skills against the local shuttler and finished off the semi-final contest without any considerable fight in straight games by taking 41 minutes
of court time.
In the first game, Ji Hyun played tremendous badminton and remained in a strong position throughout the game. She opened the first set by playing attacking strokes in the middle of the court to avoid unforced errors. As the match progressed, the Korean gained
confidence and started to drive her opponent in all corners of the court. She established a surprising lead of 11-4 in the first-half of the set.
After the interval, the Korean maintained the gap with her positive and aggressive approach. She spared no chance for the local shuttler to put up any resistance as her powerful smashes were landing perfectly in the targeted areas. Ji Hyun grabbed the set
in striking fashion with a stunning score of 21-9, in 16 minutes.
The second set was completely different when both ladies played at the same speed. The long rallies between many points showed the determination of both shuttlers to play positive badminton. The score was 12-12 when the higher ranked Korean started to hit
the bird with wonderful variations and her deceptive cross-court drop shots created trouble for her challenger.
Ji Hyun emerged as the victor by winning the set with a 21-18 margin in 25 minutes. The match took 41 minutes and ended with the victory of the Korean by a wonderful score of 21-9 and 21-18.
In the Women’s Singles final, Ji Hyun will fight for the title against Thailand’s Inthanon Ratchanok, who defeated the second seed and World Number Nine, Bae Youn Joo in the other semi-final.
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