LI NING 2009 BWF SUDIRMAN CUP - China too strong for Malaysia

Li Yongbo was spolit for choice and the Chinese coach decided to give the chance to Olympic bronze medalists He Hanbin and Yu Yang in the mixed doubles. And the Beijing heroes didn’t disappoint. Precise, accurate, fast, the Chinese edged out Fairuzizuan and Wong in straight games 21/11 – 21/14 to put China on the right track for a place in the final.

It was then time for what everyone expected : the clash between Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan.

The beginning of the match was just a marvel for the eyes. Lin Dan took an early lead, but he and Chong Wei got even at 6/6. All the strokes in the book were played, with both players wearing inverse colors – a dominant black with some yellow for Lee and the opposite for Lin Dan.

Then, for a set of 10 points, the Malaysian seemed to have lost his way, giving easy shots to his opponents, showing less speed on court, while Lin Dan was all around. The top Chinese was quickly leading 20/12. Chong Wei then changed tactics and made the rallies last longer, even if he could kill the shuttle. It worked for a while and he saved half of the 8 game points against him but a last high clear was called out and Lin could change side court with a 21/16 lead.

After few seconds of advices on both sides – given by Li Yongbo and Rashid Sidek – the two shuttlers were back on court for the second game. Lin took the lead 8/4 in spite of very long rallies, which often ended up with small mistakes from the Malaysian.

The score line, oddly enough, was exactly the opposite of the Swiss Open final where Lee had edged the Chinese 21/16 – 21/16. China was now clearly in the lead 2/0, with just another point to go for the clean sweep and the ticket for the final against Korea.

The next match on court, of course, was a thriller between two of the most spectacular pairs in the world – Cai and Fu in one end, Koo and Tan in the other. And both pair performed some of their best badminton.

It was one of the best match in the competition so far. High jump smashes leading to amazing defenses, soft play at the net, hard drives, players moving around everywhere on court and fans on the edge of their seat just about the whole time that the match lasted – one hour and six minutes.

Koo and Tan took the first game 21/19, before the Chinese levelled with a 21/15 win in the second. The last one was to last the longest, with the Chinese leading from 5 points. But Koo and Tan got back, thanks to great shots, steady game, excitement, but not too much to lose focus. Rexy Mainaky, their coach, was standing next to his coach’s chair but was obviously enjoying the game.

Unfortunately for Malaysia, the end of this specific match was also the end of the tie as it was finally Cai and Fu who got the best out of their opponents 23/21 in the decider. Koo and Tan were congratulated by their whole team – a clear sign that they did not underperformed. It was just a matter of luck and that tiny bit of home support that had given Chinese the win.

“It was overall a good performance from both teams tonight. Malaysian players gave us a good fight and we needed to be well prepared. I had hoped that we’d need only 3 matches but we had prepared for the worst. The mixed was very good, then Lin Dan showed that he mastered his game tonight. When he’s lost to Lee Chong Wei in the past, it was only because he wasn’t fully focused. Tonight, both players played very well but I believe that when they both play at their best level, Lin Dan remains the strongest,” said Li Yongbo, the Chinese team manager.

“Now, Korea is ahead of us. I don’t really think of the result right now nor on how much chances we have to win, but on how to prepare the best for tomorrow’s match. Korea has won 3 Sudirman Cups in the past, China, 6. It means it’s quite hard to tell who will win tomorrow. Korea has very strong doubles so we’ll have to be aware of that,” he added.