Uber Cup 2012: Korea trounces Chinese Taipei to make it into semi-final round
It was a day of double joy for Korea as its female shuttlers also eased into semi-final round of Uber Cup Finals after edging Chinese Taipei in round of eight on May 23, 2012.
Though, the victorious team managed to place a winning total of 3-2 but they had to fight tooth and nail as the opposing team also displayed admirable fighting spirit in all five games.
Now they will meet Japan to secure a spot in the title match of this esteemed team event.
Earlier in quarter-final tussle, Women’s Singles expert Sung Ji Hyun set the ball rolling by earning first match point for country.
World Number 11 shuttler raised her hands as champion after putting favourable margins of 18-21, 25-23 and 21-14.
This 73 minute battle started with an immediate dominance of Taipei girl Tai Tzu Ying who bagged the first set with a notable total of 21-18.
However, the Korean campaigner managed to bring the contest to right balance by winning nerve-racking second set.
Ji Hyun levelled the lead by registering concluding figure of 25-23 and took the game to third set.
The decider turned in to a dead contest as Ji Hyun sealed victory with a decent total of 21-14.
This 1-0 lead did not make any difference as Doubles experts Kim Min Jung and Ha Jung Eun could not capitalise and allowed Cheng Wen Hsing-Chien Yu Chin to level match score in next encounter of the day.
Wen Hsing-Yu Chin, currently ranked tenth in the World, came back from a horrendous start and overpowered their opponents with respectable total of 19-21, 21-18 and 21-17.
Next Singles tie tipped the scale in Taipei’s favour when Hsiao Ma Pai stunned World Number 13 shuttler Bae Yoon Joo.
The spirited Ma Pai was bit cautious in start but she matched her rival’s skills in final two sets and remained successful in registering 14-21, 21-18 and 21-14 margin.
This was now do-or-die situation for Koreans as any blunder would have kicked them out of the tournament.
However, Women’s Doubles partners Kim Ha Na and Jung Kyung Eun did not lose their nerves and fetched a crucial point by beating Wang Pei Rong-Hsieh Pei Chen with 21-14, 18-21 and 21-11.
This revised status boosted their confidence and Singles Korean shuttler Hwang Hye Youn wrapped the show by overwhelming Huang Shih Han with 21-18 and 25-23.
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