Xiaolong Liu – Zihan Qiu storm into Men’s Doubles final at Thailand Open GP Gold 2012
China’s talented youngsters Xiaolong Liu and Zihan Qiu stormed into Men’s Doubles final after defeating Korea’s Ki Jung Kim and Sa Rang Kim in semi-final match at the Thailand Open GP Gold 2012 on Saturday, June 9, at Bangkok, Thailand.
The in-form Xiaolong and Zihan, who are top seeds in Men’s Doubles draw, showed their highly elevated craft and thrashed their lower ranked Korean opponents who were third seeds in the tournament.
Xiaolong and Zihan worked really hard and took the first set with a tight margin. However, they did not face any problem in the following game and ended the contest in straight games while working for 43 minutes in the court.
Ki Jung and Sa Rang, on the other hand, tried their best in the opening game to overpower their rivals but remained unlucky in the ending points. However, they failed to focus in the court in second game and lost the match with a comprehensive margin.
In the first set, both sides started their run in a thrilling fashion as they employed powerful smashes and fast pushes to take an early lead.
Nevertheless, the Koreans geared up their speed at net and managed a small lead on the board until the one-minute interval.
After the break, the Korean shuttlers continued their power play and reached at 18-13 when Xiaolong and Zihan controlled the pace while moving with an incredible speed in the court.
The Chinese shuttlers levelled the score at 20-20 and remained equal to Koreans on the board until 23-23.
At this breath-taking stage, Xiaolong and Zihan controlled their nerves and managed to take ending points to capture the opening set with a sensational score of 25-23.
In the second game, Chinese shuttlers showed no mercy to their rivals as they took an early lead and maintained it until the break by reaching at 11-5 on the board.
After the break, Xiaolong and Zihan continued their progressive run in the court and remained successful in snatching the second game with a tremendous margin of 21-15.
The top seeded Xiaolong and Zihan emerged as the winners in this Men’s Doubles semi-final battle with a 25-23 and 21-15 score on the board.
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