Xu Chen, Ma Jin move forward to Mixed Doubles semi-finals of London Olympics – Badminton News
China’s Xu Chen-Ma Jin stamped their supremacy in quarter-finals against Robert Mateusiak-Nadiezda Zieba and marched into semi-finals of London Olympics on Wednesday, August 1, 2012.
This quarter-final match was played at Wembley Arena and both teams entertained the spectators with fine show of skills while piling up concluding figures of 19-21, 21-16 and 23-21.
However, it was not a smooth ride to victory for the World Number two Chinese pair as they narrowly escaped a 1-2 defeat.
They slipped down in the opening game and then survived when they were hanging by a thread to stay alive in the decider.
On the other hand, the Polish team played with solid determination and walked tall despite facing 2-1 defeat in round of eight.
The twosome of Robert and Nadiezda locked all attention when they stunned their higher ranked rivals with an unbeatable craft in the first set.
They kept low profile in the beginning and stepped forward carefully but then they set the stage on fire with a blistering performance just before the interval.
They were not inferior to their competitors in any department and bagged opening match point with a tight yet decisive margin of 21-19.
However, the story was entirely different in following game as Xu Chen and Ma Jin turned the tables with their superb coordination.
This time the Chinese shuttlers established a comfortable lead in no time and maintained the upper hand throughout this crucial game.
They kick-started their campaign by ruling in opening rallies and left the opposing team far behind with a decent total of 11 before interval.
After the one-minute break, they injected more intensity in their attack and stamped the Polish duo with a staggering knock of 21-16.
This revised match score position made the decider consequential as both teams were standing just one step away either from a woeful exit or from entry in semi-final round.
They made the crowd gasp with their breath-taking performance in the third set. The match kept swinging between both of teams until game-point situation as Xu Chen and Ma Jin tipped the scale in their favour with 23-21.
Now they will be up against the Indonesian duo Tontowi Ahmad-Liliyana Natsir in second to last round of London Games.
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