What went wrong for Wang Yihan in 2012? – Badminton Feature
China’s badminton queen Wang Yihan was one of the most valued campaigners at the start of this season and she was expected to raise her country’s flag in the prestigious tournaments but she could not live up to her billing throughout this year.
The World Number one shuttler was fielded in almost every prominent event but she could win only Malaysia Open and Li Ning China Masters. Meanwhile, she lost the title matches of 2012 London Olympics, Badminton Asia Championships and All England Open.
Wang Yihan started this ongoing season by participating in Korea Open. Though, she cleared preliminary stages without any serious trouble but the final round saw her struggling against a lower ranked opponent Yanjiao Jiang who claimed the crown with a splendid
performance.
However, the Chinese shuttler showed her class in very next tournament as she thrashed world beaters like Li Xuerui, Saina Nehwal and Wang Xin to seize top spot on the victory stand of Malaysia Open.
This timely win provided her the required momentum and she cruised to the final round of All England Open. She surpassed the Danish campaigner Tine Baun and the compatriot shuttler Wang Shixian in knock out rounds but she failed to dominate Li Xuerui in
the title match.
Wang Yihan disappointed her supporters by putting a below par performance in this crucial tussle and crashed out after receiving a straight-set defeat.
This woeful exit was followed by another failure in Badminton Asia Championships. This time she was in strong position to end her long streak of failures as she cast out contestants like Wang Shixian and Yanjiao Jiang but Wang Yihan could not hit the mark
in title match.
She squandered her effort in the grand finale and allowed Li Xuerui to raise the Women’s Singles trophy.
Though, she performed according to the expectations in most prestigious team event, Uber Cup Finals and revived her lost form but this was not enough to stand out in the mega London Games.
The 24-year-old Chinese shuttler was blessed with a dream draw as she faced relatively lower ranked competitors in the opening rounds. Her first real challenge was Saina Nehwal in the semi-finals and she overpowered the Indian with great ease.
This splendid win raised her chances of an Olympic gold medal but bad luck haunted her in this tournament also as she surrendered in front of Li Xuerui for the third time in same year. Wang Yihan was under huge pressure after this failure as it never happened
before that she failed to win even a single notable title in a season.
However, she showed a strong character and employed all of her experience and brilliance to come out of this bad patch in Li Ning China Masters. Finally, hard work paid off and she managed to reinstate her dominance by winning this home event on merit.
Wang Yihan was also fielded in Denmark Open. Though, an ill-timed injury put her expedition to halt but still she justified her selection with an unbeatable run all the way to semi-finals.
The spirited Chinese shuttler has been appearing in every prominent event for last couple of years and perhaps these back-to-back outings reduced her mental and physical strength which ultimately resulted in a series of failures.
Maybe a short break from the arena is all she needs to regain her lost touch and concerned authorities should keep her away from over-exertion to capitalise such talent.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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