Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei emerge as Mixed Doubles champion – Indonesia Open 2013
China’s Mixed Doubles team Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei remained invincible in the final round of Djarum Indonesia Open and claimed the crown on Sunday, June 16, 2013.
This title match put them against the Danish pair Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen who displayed great fighting spirit in this 81-minute tussle. Both teams entertained the local crowd in badminton arena of Jakarta and earned great deal of admiration while piling the decisive figures of 24-22, 20-22 and 21-12.
The third seeded Chinese duo locked the honour by prevailing in the opening and ending segments of the showdown whereas the losing duo could serve notice of its potential just in the second set.
Zhang and Zhao were a bit sluggish in the beginning of first set and their passive approach kept both teams close on the points table. However, they managed to gain the right momentum and left their challengers far behind with few back-to-back points.
They did not lose this rhythm and finished first half of the set with a respectable figure. After the one-minute break, they blundered in third quarter of the set and allowed the opposing shuttlers to proceed on points table.
Zhang and Zhao showed strong character in pressure situation and tipped the scale in their favour with a tight yet decisive margin of 24-22.
There were a lot of fireworks in the following game, as the victorious duo of first set was looking to wrap this showdown in just two games, whereas the Danish players were trying to avoid a straight-set defeat.
This time, Joachim and Christinna employed all of their experience in the game and managed to save the match from being a dead contest. They matched their competitors’ skills in all departments of the game and registered an impressive figure of 22-20.
Now both teams were at even terms in the match score position and they were expected to fight hard to claim the final match point. However, the Chinese shuttlers struck hard and made this a one-sided affair.
Zhang and Zhao maintained a significant difference on points table and enjoyed an upper hand throughout this set. They placed a winning margin of 21-12 and earned the right to raise Mixed Doubles trophy.
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