Phew...what a long day!!!
Back at home after a long day of badminton in my friend's place (for viewers in HKG:
now Cable is showing ALL the Super Series matches this year). The matches go into overtime, with 4 of them ending in rubber-sets and since the telecast was delayed by 1/2 an hr here (started at 2pm), they
actually cut 2 sets!! Thankfully, the first set that was cut was the WD first game between Gao Ling/Zhao Tingting and Yang Wei/Zhang Jiewen (ended 13-21 in Yang/Zhang's favour), while the second set cut was the MD second game between Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan and Lars Paaske/Jonas Rasmussen (ended 20-22 in Paaske/Rasmussen's favour).
Two matches could be considered forgettable since all of us wanted them to end quickly. First up was the XD Final between
He Hanbin/Yu Yang and Lee Yong Dae/Lee Hyo Jung. The first-set was quite even until it was 14-14 and He Hanbin's turn to serve. It was from his serves that the Chinese pair won 7 straight points to take the first set 21-14! As usual, Lee Hyo Jung looked clumsy with her "now customary" netting errors and out returns. Lee Yong Dae was also not at his best and was pressured many times by He Hanbin's thunderous smashes!
He Hanbin was the form man today, with his brilliant serves, which won another 6 straight points when it was 9-7 in the second set. That basically killed the match and they won the second set and the match comfortably 21-15. So, the Chinese pair collected their 2nd Super Series titles and they have become increasingly matured and a worthy successor to Gao Ling/Zheng Bo, after Gao Ling retires.
The WD match was quite forgettable as me and my friends were chatting during that match. The only high point was the deuces at the end of the rubber-set and quite rightly,
Yang Wei/Zhang Jiewen showed to Li Yongbo that they deserve to be sent to the Beijing Olympics, by winning yet another title here in KL! A fitting one too for the future Malaysian bride
