The Malaysian badminton superstar Lee Chong Wei had a hard match on his hands in playing against world no.1 Chen Long at the Chinese-Taipei Grand Prix Gold Tournament on July 17, 2015. In an unusually long badminton duel, Chong Wei began well to take the first game but the Chinese came back to fight hard next. Finally the three-game thriller ended in favor of the Chinese. In another interesting quarterfinal, Denmark’s no.2 seed Jan O Jorgensen also lost in three games to the fifth seeded Taiwanese Chou Tien Chen. But Lin Dan shattered the dreams of the 18-year old Indonesian Ginting Anthony by handing him a straight games defeat in the third quarterfinal. The last semifinal berth in the men’s singles was claimed by Hong Kong’s 11th seeded Wei Nan, who defeated Korea’s Kwang Hee Heo. With this, the semifinal Line-up in the tournament has been decided. In women’s draw, the three top seeded players have justified their tournament rankings by reaching the semifinals. Ratchanok Intanon, Li Xuerui and Tai Tsu Ying reached the last four with the no.6 seeded Chinese Wang Yihan also joining them in the line-up.
Lee Chong Wei & Chen Long
A keenly awaited contest between two of the greatest names in world badminton ended in the favor of China’s world no.1 Chen Long. In a thrilling quarterfinal at Taiwan Arena on Friday, Malaysia’s former world no.1 Lee Chong Wei lost to the Chinese Chen Long 21-17, 20-22, 13-21. Chen Long had the advantage of match practice but Chong Wei showed his mettle in the first game by winning easily. The second game was a see-saw battle and the Malaysian came close to causing an upset but the Chinese top seed was tenacious as he edged out Chong Wei 22-20. In the third game, Chong Wei couldn’t make a comeback as Chen Long entered the semifinal by taking the last game quite easily. After his 8-month long doping ban, Chong Wei has come back to the badminton circuit and recently won the Canadian Open and United States Grand Prix tournaments. But Chen Long was a hard nut to crack. Their match lasted 77 minutes and provided thrilling entertainment to the viewers. The Malaysian has a mission on hand. After long absence from active badminton, he wants to earn as many points as possible to improve on his current world ranking of 65. This will help him qualify for 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Victory against Chen Long could have added to his current tally of ranking points.
In other men’s singles quarterfinal matches, Denmark’s no.2 seed Jan O Jorgensen lost in three games against Taiwan’s no.5 seed Chou Tien Chen. The Dane won the first game 22-20 but the Taiwanese came back strongly in the next two games to win 20-22, 21-14, 21-16. Lin Dan defeated the fast rising Indonesian teenager Ginting Anthony 21-7, 22-20. The Chinese didn’t allow the 18-year old Indonesian to settle in the first game but Anthony bounced back to match the Super Dan point by point before the Chinese finished the game 22-20. Hong Kong’s 11th seeded Wei Nan completed the semifinal line-up by beating Korea’s Kwang Hee Heo 14-21, 21-12, 21-17.
In women’s draw, top-seeded Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand got past Korea’s Bae Yeon Ju 21-12, 21-14; no.2 seed China’s, Li Xuerui defeated Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21-12, 21-12; no.3 seed Taiwanese Tai Tsu Ying beat Japan’s Sayaka Sato 21-14, 21-18 and no.6 seed Chinese Wang Yihan got the better of her compatriot and no.4 seeded Wang Shixian 10-21, 21-10, 21-17.
