No easy day for the top seeds – Wang Yihan was very close to losing while Lee Chong Wei was upset by Jan Jorgensen of Denmark in the first round of the Li-Ning China Open in Shanghai.
“I knew it was in me. But today’s victory is just unbelievable. I used to look up at these amazing players when I was a kid, but now, I have to realise I have become one of them,” said Jorgensen.
And the Dane was as happy as one can be after his first round of the Li-Ning China Open held in Shanghai. ChinaOpen-D1-wang
“It wasn’t a good draw at all for me, but on the other hand, I knew that he could be tired after his victory in Hong Kong Last week, so I took all my chances,” added Jorgensen.
The Dane got off to a flying start with an impressive 21/6 first game pocketed in no time. Chong Wei didn’t seem so frustrated but put on the higher gear in the second game that he won 21/13. All seemed back onto the normal track but the third game once again showed Jorgensen’s talent.
Early on the shuttle, relying on a good defense while the Malaysian wasn’t as accurate with his attacks, Jorgensen took an important lead in the decider – he was quickly leading 12/5.The public was cheering for Lee Chong Wei when he caught back to 16/18 but this wasn’t to be enough – the world’s best was sent packing in three games 6/21 – 21/13 – 17/21.
“I think that I had proven in the past that I could take games or win against players like him. Now, if I beat the world number one, it does show that I can win many more matches against the top players. I’m playing great at the moment and this win is definitely going to boost my confidence,” he added.
The Young Dane may have been expecting to play Dutchman Eric Pang, but instead of that it will be France’s Brice Leverdez, who created an upset over his neighbour, winning in an easy 21/6 – 21/13 success, giving France its first success in the men’s singles of a Super Series event since Lo Ying Ping had entered the second round in the French Open last year. ChinaOpen-D1-yihan
If Park Sung Hwan had a sweet and easy revenge over Chan Yan Kit of Hong Kong – the latter had ousted the Korean in Hong Kong last week – other seeds had much more difficult times: Chen Jin struggled with three long games to beat Thailand’s Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk while Sony Dwi Kuncoro had to go the full distance to beat an inspired Andrew Smith of England, 23/21– 14/21 – 21/16.
Lin Dan and Bao Chunlai delighted the home crowd with the big match for China, past 11 PM, but as expected the Olympic Champion beat his taller opponent in straight games 21/12 – 21/19 with obviously some fun rallies played by the two friends where Lin Dan practiced his dives and retrieves to the fans’ delight.
Leverdez’s success was good news for France as his compatriot Pi Hongyan, who usually gets France’s flag flying in International competition was sent home early by youngster Wang Shixian in one of the upsets of the day.
Pi could only manage to get a close second game, but apart from that, the Sichuan born Pi could not match Wang’s pace and went down 12/21 – 21/19 – 12/21 after one hour of fight. Wang Yihan could have been upset as well as the top seed, originally from Shanghai, was all but serene against Korea’s Bae Seung Hee.
After losing easily the first game, she was back at one game all but trailed most of the third game, where the tiny Korean made her work for her points. At 19/19, the Korea wasted her chance to score, putting her smash wide and giving her opponents a first – and decisive match point as Wang converted it right away.
“I was lucky on the last two points because I didn’t play well then. My shots were not accurate nor precise, but fortunately, she didn’t take advantage of it. Maybe she was too eager to win. As for me, I think I was both a bit tired and stressed to play here in China” said Wang. She will take on Wong Mew Choo of Malaysia in the next round.
Wang Chen, from Hong Kong but born in Shanghai will have plenty of time to visit friends and family : the 8th seed was also edged out by qualifier Li Xuerui in straight games – the latter spent so little time and energy on court that she actually ran to shake hands with both the umpire and the service judge. Yao Jie – thought out of the tournament after her walkover last week in Hong Kong but still in Shanghai – was also beaten in the first round, by another young Chinese – Xia Jingyuan.
Source : www.internationalbadminton.org
Thursday, November 19, 2009
LI-NING CHINA OPEN 2009 - Final countdown begins for SS Finals
The Li-Ning China Open which kicked off in Shanghai this Tuesday with the qualification rounds will be the last chance for a player or pair to earn points to qualify for Super Series finals to be held in Johor Baru, Malaysia, from December 2-6.
One last chance to make the cut. That what was probably on the mind of players who flew from Hong Kong to Shanghai, this week end, during the short flight that took them from Hong Kong to China’s fashion capital – Shanghai.
Several players and pairs are already assured of their ticket for the US$500 000 Finals, but some will need to perform well in China this week to make it into the top 8 of the dedicated ranking – which takes in account only the points given in the 12-leg Super Series.
If Peter Gade, Lee Chong Wei, and Lin Dan are already assured of travelling to Johor Baru, other big names may not. Taufik Hidayat is only 500 points ahead of Park Sung Hwan and less than a thousand ahead of his compatriot Sony Dwi Kuncoro.
As the 2004 Olympic champion is not travelling to China this week, he could see his closest rivals overtake him and qualify. It’s especially true of Sony Dwi Kuncoro, who could be the second – and last – Indonesian to qualify should he reach a higher stage.
In order to do that, he will have to beat Andrew Smith of England, then, either Shon Wan Ho of Korea or Arvind Bhat of India before facing Chen Jin, who is the No 4 seed.
However, Indonesians have yet to confirm whether they will be participating in the Finals after their governing body enhanced the importance of the upcoming SEA Games.
For Park Sung Hwan, 6thseed, and currently 9th on the Super Series Ranking, his first round might be crucial – even if the fact that three Chinese are ahead of him, he might get him into the invitation list for the finals.
But the odds are such that the Korean will be facing his direct opponent Chan Yan Kit of Hong Kong, 10th on the Super Series Ranking, and who ended the Korean’s run in Hong Kong last week. It will be revenge time for the Korean.
Top seed Lee Chong Wei will also have a tough first round in the name of Jan Jorgensen, the new jewel of Denmark – the first player in over 10 years to have beaten Peter Gade on the International stage.
Jorgensen will have had a little more time to rest as he was ousted earlier in the Hong Kong Open last week while Chong Wei had to go the full distance – clinching the gold medal on Sunday.
Amongst the other mouth watering starters, the two friends Lin Dan and Bao Chunlai were drawn to play each other in the worst possible draw for China. Kenichi Tago, meant to play Simon Santoso, as well as Hafiz Hashim, Kuan Beng Hong all withdrew from the tournament as did Gade and Hidayat.
Tine Rasmussen, who is also assured of participating in the Finals, heads to Shanghai with some video footage to look at – she was present in the Hong Kong Final Open, in the stands, recording the match between Wang Yihan and Jiang Yanjiao.
She could be meeting again Wang in the final as they are both top seeds on either side of the draw. Rasmussen starts her tournament with Ai Goto, the ever running Japanese, while the worst draw for the seeded players is awarded to Pi Hongyan, 5th seeds and meant to play one of the two uprising “Wangs” – Shixian – in the first round.
If the 8 players are almost set to be picked, the only one hoping for a last minute chance would be Salakjit Ponsana, but the tiny Thai has to face Jiang Yanjiao in the first round. But new faces could be appearing as it is usually the case in China events.
This Tuesday, youngster Li Xueri could be one of them as she qualified for the main draw to face Wang Chen, representing Hong Kong but originally from Shanghai. Zhou Mi will not participate in the event.
The Chinese couldn’t hope for a worse draw in the men’s doubles as well – the first round will see Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng take on their partners Guo Zhengdong and Xu Chen. And, as if seeing the best two pairs of the same country play each other in the first round wasn’t bad enough, the two pairs are hand in hand in the race for the Super Series qualification, at 9th and 8th spots respectively.
This means that, no matter what, China will have only one men’s doubles pair in Johor Baru. Should Cai and Fu make it to the quarter final, they are likely to play against Jung Jae Sung and Lee Yong Dae of Korea, winner last week in Hong Kong.
Korea’s in luck as the new pairing of Cho Gun Who and Shin Baek Chol will not have to face Malaysia’s Zakry Abdul Latif and Faruzizuan Tazari as the latter withdrew as did some of their compatriots. Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan will have another chance at getting even with Alvent Yulianto and Chandra, who beat them last week – the two pairs are meant to meet in the quarter finals.
Top seeds Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong start of their Li-Ning China Open against the young Chinese duo of Liu Xiaolong and Xiu Zihan.
If the women’s doubles is usually a done deal for China, this should be even more true this week, as no less than 14 pairs from mainland China have entered the draw. Cheng Shu and Zhao Yunlei are top seeds and could face either compatriots Zhang/Tian in the quarter, or Korea’s Kim/Park.
Chin Eei Hui and Wong Pei Tty have been quite lucky with the draw, with only one out of the 14 pairs in their quarters. Their strongest opponents should be either India’s Ashwini Ponnappa/Jwala Gutta or England’s Jenny Wallwork/Gabrielle White.
For Lee Yong Dae and Lee Hyo Jung, this event will be the perfect way to get even with Indonesia’s Fran Kurniawan and Pia Zabedah Bernadet, who had stunned the Olympic champions last week : they will play each other in the first round.
The only seeded team to have withdrawn is Denmark’s Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen, but all eyes will be on Liliyana Natsir and her new partner Devin Lahardi who replaces the evergreen Nova Widianto.
Source : www.internationalbadminton.org
One last chance to make the cut. That what was probably on the mind of players who flew from Hong Kong to Shanghai, this week end, during the short flight that took them from Hong Kong to China’s fashion capital – Shanghai.
Several players and pairs are already assured of their ticket for the US$500 000 Finals, but some will need to perform well in China this week to make it into the top 8 of the dedicated ranking – which takes in account only the points given in the 12-leg Super Series.
If Peter Gade, Lee Chong Wei, and Lin Dan are already assured of travelling to Johor Baru, other big names may not. Taufik Hidayat is only 500 points ahead of Park Sung Hwan and less than a thousand ahead of his compatriot Sony Dwi Kuncoro.
As the 2004 Olympic champion is not travelling to China this week, he could see his closest rivals overtake him and qualify. It’s especially true of Sony Dwi Kuncoro, who could be the second – and last – Indonesian to qualify should he reach a higher stage.
In order to do that, he will have to beat Andrew Smith of England, then, either Shon Wan Ho of Korea or Arvind Bhat of India before facing Chen Jin, who is the No 4 seed.
However, Indonesians have yet to confirm whether they will be participating in the Finals after their governing body enhanced the importance of the upcoming SEA Games.
For Park Sung Hwan, 6thseed, and currently 9th on the Super Series Ranking, his first round might be crucial – even if the fact that three Chinese are ahead of him, he might get him into the invitation list for the finals.
But the odds are such that the Korean will be facing his direct opponent Chan Yan Kit of Hong Kong, 10th on the Super Series Ranking, and who ended the Korean’s run in Hong Kong last week. It will be revenge time for the Korean.
Top seed Lee Chong Wei will also have a tough first round in the name of Jan Jorgensen, the new jewel of Denmark – the first player in over 10 years to have beaten Peter Gade on the International stage.
Jorgensen will have had a little more time to rest as he was ousted earlier in the Hong Kong Open last week while Chong Wei had to go the full distance – clinching the gold medal on Sunday.
Amongst the other mouth watering starters, the two friends Lin Dan and Bao Chunlai were drawn to play each other in the worst possible draw for China. Kenichi Tago, meant to play Simon Santoso, as well as Hafiz Hashim, Kuan Beng Hong all withdrew from the tournament as did Gade and Hidayat.
Tine Rasmussen, who is also assured of participating in the Finals, heads to Shanghai with some video footage to look at – she was present in the Hong Kong Final Open, in the stands, recording the match between Wang Yihan and Jiang Yanjiao.
She could be meeting again Wang in the final as they are both top seeds on either side of the draw. Rasmussen starts her tournament with Ai Goto, the ever running Japanese, while the worst draw for the seeded players is awarded to Pi Hongyan, 5th seeds and meant to play one of the two uprising “Wangs” – Shixian – in the first round.
If the 8 players are almost set to be picked, the only one hoping for a last minute chance would be Salakjit Ponsana, but the tiny Thai has to face Jiang Yanjiao in the first round. But new faces could be appearing as it is usually the case in China events.
This Tuesday, youngster Li Xueri could be one of them as she qualified for the main draw to face Wang Chen, representing Hong Kong but originally from Shanghai. Zhou Mi will not participate in the event.
The Chinese couldn’t hope for a worse draw in the men’s doubles as well – the first round will see Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng take on their partners Guo Zhengdong and Xu Chen. And, as if seeing the best two pairs of the same country play each other in the first round wasn’t bad enough, the two pairs are hand in hand in the race for the Super Series qualification, at 9th and 8th spots respectively.
This means that, no matter what, China will have only one men’s doubles pair in Johor Baru. Should Cai and Fu make it to the quarter final, they are likely to play against Jung Jae Sung and Lee Yong Dae of Korea, winner last week in Hong Kong.
Korea’s in luck as the new pairing of Cho Gun Who and Shin Baek Chol will not have to face Malaysia’s Zakry Abdul Latif and Faruzizuan Tazari as the latter withdrew as did some of their compatriots. Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan will have another chance at getting even with Alvent Yulianto and Chandra, who beat them last week – the two pairs are meant to meet in the quarter finals.
Top seeds Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong start of their Li-Ning China Open against the young Chinese duo of Liu Xiaolong and Xiu Zihan.
If the women’s doubles is usually a done deal for China, this should be even more true this week, as no less than 14 pairs from mainland China have entered the draw. Cheng Shu and Zhao Yunlei are top seeds and could face either compatriots Zhang/Tian in the quarter, or Korea’s Kim/Park.
Chin Eei Hui and Wong Pei Tty have been quite lucky with the draw, with only one out of the 14 pairs in their quarters. Their strongest opponents should be either India’s Ashwini Ponnappa/Jwala Gutta or England’s Jenny Wallwork/Gabrielle White.
For Lee Yong Dae and Lee Hyo Jung, this event will be the perfect way to get even with Indonesia’s Fran Kurniawan and Pia Zabedah Bernadet, who had stunned the Olympic champions last week : they will play each other in the first round.
The only seeded team to have withdrawn is Denmark’s Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen, but all eyes will be on Liliyana Natsir and her new partner Devin Lahardi who replaces the evergreen Nova Widianto.
Source : www.internationalbadminton.org
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