wah lao... I dunneed to even watch the match to know who got points. Each time, my ears got stuck or deafened, that means LCW got points LOL
An Excellent Evening Session ..... If there was a match where maximum powers of concentration is needed to finish off the opposition, the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] MD semifinal between Korea and China would be it. The first few rallies started with both pairs not lifting. Instead, fast drives were being traded for the most part, and being a Korean specialty, CGW/SBC moved into the lead. Well, up to 15-11 at least, until their concentration was broken by the umpire giving a warning to Chai Biao for delaying tactics. From then onwards, the Chinese pair were able to level the score and the battle for supremacy of game 1 began. A battle that survived a total of 5 gamepoints before the crowd decided to boost the Korean potency by shouting “Korea! Korea!” during a Korean gamepoint at 25-24. And sure enough, Shin Baek Chol found open space with a diagonal push towards the Chinese backhand side. The intensity of this game alone probably contributed to more white hairs for Coach Kang Kyung Jin. So much so that the older and more accomplished (but darker haired) Coach Kim Moon Soo took notice and came over to beef up the in-game coaching squad. Both pairs continued where they left off in game 2, with evenly traded points and no pair being more than 2 pts behind until 15-15. Suddenly, Koreans found themselves 19-16 up and thought the worst must be over ..... Not a chance!!! Good delicate work from Guo Zhendong put the Chinese back level, only for his next serve to go short. Matchpoint Korea! Luckily Chai Biao took charge at the net to force deuce. But finally Koreans nailed it on their 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] matchpoint when GZD missed a sitter with the Korean court open – sending the shuttle to the net. Next up for the Chinese pair – a meeting with Head Coach LYB for a reading of the riot act ...... Women’s Doubles came next with the delicate skinned Ha Jung Eun and Kim Min Jung slight favourites over Panasonic-powered Mami Naito and Shizuka Matsuo. For some reason, early in the game the Koreans were transformed into aunties, with typical auntie lack of mobility, colossal mistakes at the net and during service. Rotation wise, they were not smooth and almost collided with each other a few times. Within minutes, they were down 7-18 before they were transformed back to the mid-twenties women they are, although a bit too late to salvage the game 17-21. 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] game was controlled by the Koreans from the very beginning, once they found the sweet spot where Mami Naito’s defence is suspect. And from then onwards, the writing was on the wall for Panasonic Japan. Coach Kim Moon Soo celebrates yet another victory with his dark hair intact. The match between Chen Jin and Kenichi Tago did not go to plan, for Chen Jin, that is. Barely has 3 pts been played before he had to stop to seek treatment for his right foot injury which was made worse in the epic match against Jorgensen last night. Finally, after another 2 pts played, CJ conceded defeat. We’ve already known for the past half a day that as far as the WS title is concerned, in the end, there could only be Wang ...... whether Shixian, or Xin, or Yihan, that would be for the three heavenly Wangs to decide. And so with not so much funfare, the one called Xin upstaged her younger teammate Shixian to earn a Highlander endgame duel with the beautiful Yihan. The match was tight and beautiful in the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] game, but again, the crowd intervened to ensure that their home hero’s entrance into battle is not delayed. A smash from Shixian was judged out, handing the initiative back to Xin for a 21-12, 25-23 victory. In the last match of the night, the home hero made sure he got as perfect a start as possible, which was helped by Chen Long taking a bit of time to get warmed to operating conditions. But once CL was on the boil, and with a bit of good fortune, the pts gap was closed and it was touch and go until 18-18. From then onwards, several well placed direction shots allowed LCW to hit straight winners or force CL to return out. LCW took game 1 21-18, much to the relief of most of the crowd. The 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] game was when the battle was fully in earnest, pts being traded. The defending champion tried to keep CL’s body muscles working overtime with sudden directional changes at the net. CL counters with fast stabbing clears to force a shorter return. At 6-6, LCW moved to a higher gear and kept his defences tighter than Fort Knox, but failed to reduce his unforced errors. The result, CL came back rejuvenated and almost immediately moved into the lead. The 3rd game beckoned as CL kept his lead at 18-16. To, err, improve his performance, CL immediately subscribed to an instant weight reduction programme, by changing his soaking wet shirt. It did wonders - even a bad line call at 19-16 did not halt CL's progress. 1 game all. More urgency was required at the start of the 3rd game, but by this time only CL was willing to take risks. He was rewarded with an early 7-3 lead. The Malaysian supporters squad immediately got to work to inject extra pace into LCW. It worked, not only was the gap was closed at 8-8, LCW went 3 pts clear at the changeover. Following the intermission, the screws were tightened through LCW's excellent diagonal pushes. At 14-9, CL started to look at divine intervention. And the divine power snapped LCW's racquet strings, which broke his momentum temporarily. But with some "evasive shuttle maneuvers", LCW was able to open a new 6 pt gap at 18-12. In the end, the World No 1 is still the better player on court today. The match ended 21-18, 17-21, 21-13 to LCW.
