Wook Kang, Hee Lee power their way to quarter-finals of Malaysia Open GP Gold
Mixed Doubles experts Ji Wook Kang and So Hee Lee of Korea ensured their presence in quarter-finals of Malaysia Open GP Gold after beating the duo Chun Hei Lee-Kwan Yi Mong in second round match on May 3, 2012.
The hard-fought pre quarter-final tussle was resolved after three sets with final scores of 13-21, 21-14 and 24-22.
In 46-minute tussle, Wook Kang-Hee Lee recovered from a horrendous start and forged fruitful chemistry in last two games.
They proved themselves lazy bones in opening game as they could not pick the bird early which ultimately cost them a crucial match point.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong campaigners played fast badminton and pushed their rivals in all areas of court throughout first set.
The twosome of Chun Hei Lee and Kwan Yi Mong got into authoritative position with 9-4 total but they lost the grip as their challengers narrowed the gap with four back-to-back points.
They were just a nail ahead until the interval but they geared up themselves and won eight consecutive rallies that took them to 17-8 which helped them sweep the board with 21-13.
However, the Koreans bounced back into match in very next game. They put up great show of court craft and brought the match to right balance by winning second set.
Wook Kang and Hee Lee established an unassailable lead with 11-5 in first half of the set and continued dictating their challengers in later part as well.
They successfully entered a concluding margin of 21-14 in score log and setup a survival of the fittest war in third and final set.
The final segment was the most captivating part of the show as both teams tried their level best to exceed the opposition.
In the beginning, the Hong Kong shuttlers remained few steps ahead of their rival with 11-8 total but the Koreans caught them at 11-11 by adding three consecutive points.
After that, no one could maintain a permanent lead until last shot was played. Both teams made the spectators gasp at 22-22 but finally Wook Kang and Hee Lee ended this race with 24-22 score in their favour.
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