LI NING 2009 BWF SUDIRMAN CUP - China in ‘seventh’ heaven

China scooped the Sudirman Cup on home soil on Sunday, beating Korea 3/0 for an expected clean sweep, leaving Guangzhou without a single loss.

There were some eyebrows raised when the line up sheet was given to the press. Zheng Bo and Yu Yang as a mixed doubles?

A scratch pair for the final of the Sudirman Cup when the duo of Zheng Bo and Ma Jin had beaten the Olympic champions twice this year in Switzerland and All England ? That was Li Yongbo’s option to rely on a more experienced player – Yu Yang – to try to counter attack the Korean mighty duo, who had proven they were back at their best this week, winning all their matches and hoping to fare in Guangzhou just as well as in Beijing a few months ago.
sudirman8-leelee
Li’s choice however was to provide the full house with a first ever confrontation for the tie’s beginning. And things soon proved to be exciting as China, for the first time, was put in danger by one of their opponents when Lee Hyo Jung and Lee Yong Dae secured the first game 21/18 – quite close and on Hyo Jung’s drop hitting the net.
The second game was just as tight, with the Chinese moving closer to the net. Leading by few points at half time, the Chinese saw the Koreans take over and lead 18/17 before they secured three points in a row, offering themselves a chance to go to a deciding game. Zheng couldn’t take the pressure and served in the net, wasting a great opportunity, but it was finally Yu Yang who scooped the last point on her own.
In the third game, China raced to a 4/1 lead, they were still ahead 10/6 but let the Koreans get back and switch sides in the lead 11/10. The Chinese however took once more the lead towards the end of the game, when Li Yongbo’s decision to field Yu Yang found all it’s depth: the Olympic champion in women’s doubles, was astonishing in terms of steadiness and precision when the crucial points came.
They were never to be caught and clinched the first point 18/21 – 21/19 – 21/16 in 1h12 minutes. Li Yongbo’s bet had succeeded and China was in the lead 1/0, beating the Olympic champions for a starter. With a black cloud starting to form over Korea’s chances to trouble the hot favourites.
sudirman8-lindan“We had some problems adjusting to each other’s game at the beginning, and didn’t really know how to distribute the roles but gradually, we realized that the most important was to show our confidence on court and we then realized that things would go better,” said a delighted Yu Yang right after the match.
Lin Dan was then up against Park Sung Hwan – one of the players Lin had struggled in the past. Yet his recent success over Park in the Olympics and in the Thomas Cup gave Lin a crucial psychological boost, on top of knowing that Park was not in his best form, having just been released from the army.
The Korean , put under pressure, knew he had to take his chances and play the lines, but it also meant making mistakes. The Chinese was clever enough to be patient and count on his opponent’s mistakes, adding some inspired fast play when needed to take the first game 21/14. The second game was way more even and Park showed glimpses of his talent why Lin Dan seemed more patient on court, aware that the Korean hadn’t say his last word.
And Li Yongbo’s best soldier was not to disappoint him and Lin sealed the match 21/14 – 21/18 in 50 minutes. “I must thank my team mates as when they won the mixed double I felt confident we would win. But this match against Park Sung Hwan was very difficult, especially in the second game. I was too eager to win but I calmed myself down at the end,” said Lin, who hinted he would go on for another 3 years at least to defend his title in London 2012.
sudirman8-mixedfinalOf course, at this stage, after a little more than two hours of play, Korea’s chances looked very little small to get back and win the tie, having lost the mixed double which they clearly counted on. On top of that, Lee Yong Dae had used a lot of energy and returned in the men’s doubkes with Jung Jae Sung while Cai and Fu were fit and fresh from last night’s victory over Indonesia.
But the Koreans were to give the fans some extra time of wonderful badminton. Losing the first game 14/21, the combination of Lee at the net and Jung attacking from the back proved lethal and they were quickly back at one game all, silencing the large crowd for few minutes just like when they took an early lead in the decider.
The second part of the game was a thriller, with Jung Jae Sung outpowering the Chinese and taking a 16/13 lead, but Cai and Fu stayed focused and crawled back into the game at 15/16 and then 17/17. The last few points were to be all Cai and Fu’s, as they could taste victory yet had the experience to cope with the pressure. The Koreans sunk while the Chinese played just the right shuttles at the right time, scoring the last 4 points missing to the overall victory.
In fact, the Chinese ended their Sudirman Cup campaign with all their players undefeated, with 21 matches won and none lost. A complete sweep at home.

Posted by Lucas Liau on 8:41 AM. Filed under , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0

0 comments for �LI NING 2009 BWF SUDIRMAN CUP - China in ‘seventh’ heaven�

Post a Comment
ShaShinKi.com - Malaysia's Online Camera Shop!

dailyvid

FLICKR PHOTO STREAM

2010 BlogNews Magazine. All Rights Reserved. - Designed by SimplexDesign