LI-NING CHINA OPEN 2009 - What a 'Dae'
News 3:06 PM
Lee Yong Dae was the man of the day in
Yong Dae and Lee Hyo Jung of
Needless to say that the mighty Koreans were eager to put an end to the “Zheng Bo” curse – who with his former partner Goa Ling, beat the Koreans seven times previously. 
But on Sunday, it was the Koreans who got the better start. Yong Dae and Hyo Jung took the attack earlier than their opponents who took a bit of time to get the engine going. It was a close fight, but the Koreans won 21/19 in the opening game.
The second game was much better for the hosts, with Ma Jin excelling in defense and Yong Dae’s attacks losing a bit of power. On many occasions, her cross court flat defenses outwit the Koreans and the Chinese were back in the game with a 21/14 win in the second game.
The third game couldn’t start better for the world’s best as Yong Dae/Hyo Jung soon led 6/0, with a chance to lead 7/2 when the former smashed an easy high shuttle mid court right into the net.
However, the Koreans kept the pressure on their opponents who avoided lifting shuttles and played a very tactical game – one that had worked so many times before. They switched side with a five-point margin at 11/6. Then again, the Chinese outpowered their opponents with Zheng Bo giving everything he had to crawl back into the game.
At 15/15, it was all square again and Hyo Jung was showing signs of frustration as she probably felt they might have let their chance slip again. However, Zheng Bo started committing errors and as Yong Dae’s seemed more focused than ever, the Koreans managed to succeed where they had failed so many times before and finally ended the curse with a bright 21/19 – 14/21 – 21/19 victory. 
In the last match of the day, Lee Yong Dae was back on court, this time trading the blue for yellow jersey, and Jung Jae Sung as a partner instead of Lee Hyo Jung.
Facing them, Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong of Malaysia for a mouth watering match. And the outcome didn’t disappoint the fans, with a very enjoyable game to watch and to play.
Both pairs obviously enjoyed staying on court as they spent no less than 1hour and 16 minutes – the exact same time of the mixed doubles – fighting like crazy. Rallies lasted as long as the best women’s double as both teams defended superbly and the power put into the attack was fading as time went by.
After winning the first game, the Koreans led 19/17 in the second game, but the Malaysians managed to get on top and clinch the second one 21/19. In the third, as both teams were obviously teasing each other with long lobs, Lee and Jung stayed on top but once they reached 20/14, they were not able to score for another 5 points, until, at last, the last shuttle was killed by Lee. It was all over for that fantastic match.
Jorgensen learnt a lot from his final against the world’s best player at the moment. The good news is that he will probably get to play against Lin Dan a lot more with the kind of level he showed all this week.
The bad news is that the Chinese has announced that he was now targeting the 2012 London Olympics. Not a bad news for everyone – just his opponents – as once again Lin Dan proved what a fantastic player he was to beat the Dane 21/12 – 21/12.
“He’s fast, he’s clever, he’s just an amazing player and I can’t see any weaknesses in his game,” were Jorgensen’s words, full of respect for the top Chinese.
The beginning of the match, however, saw Jorgensen fight back and leave the Chinese few metres from the shuttle but once the home hero had learned how to read Jorgensen’s game, it was all much easier, even if, at times, he looked like he was enjoying himself.
“He did fool around a little bit with me but the good thing is that I was able to score then. But, yes, he was better than me today. I’ve learned from this match as I’ve learned from all this week in
“Winning at home is always a great feeling and I am glad I did as I had some injuries before the tournament. It’s the end of the year and I am quite satisfied with my performance after the Olympics. I’ve grown to be a better player from 2004 to 2008, and now, I am also seeking to be even better. I feel like I still have a lot in me and I would like to prepare the best I can for London Olympics,” said Lin Dan.
The Champion will skip the Super Series Finals to focus on the East Asian Games, while Bao Chunlai should replace him in Johor Baru.
Oddly enough, few minutes before Lin Dan came on court, his former girlfriend, Zhao Tingting, and his current one, Xie Xingfang, were given a goodbye tribute for their long lasting career, by
In a short but emotional ceremony, the two girls – Xie in civilian outfit and Zhao wearing her army uniform – were thanked for their achievements.
Not yet retired, Zhang Yawen – who had clinched the women’s double gold medal in the Hyderabad World Championships – was on her end, very much active and she proved her talent with her younger and smiling partner Tian Qing. The new duo beat the reigning Olympic champions Du Jing and Yu Yang 21/14 – 21/14.
Posted by Lucas Liau
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