Long falls short as sprightly Lee wins with ease
NEW DELHI: Perhaps, it was a result that many, especially those who had flocked to the Siri Fort Sports Complex, had expected. World No 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia beat his emerging Chinese rival Chen Long to clinch the Yonex Sunrise India Open.
For those still keen, the scoreline read 21-13, 21-17.
However, in sport, as in life for that matter, the favourites don’t always emerge victorious. More so, if the burden of a whole nation is on the player’s slender, but strong, shoulders. Certainly not if, on every occasion, is reminded of his fame, by a raucous crowd in a country that, incidentally, shares a large border with that of your opponent.
Lee started the match on a sound note, combining the deftness of drop shots with pace and power of smashes to nudge ahead of Long in the first game. Despite the huge backing he had at the venue, the Malaysian kept his feet on the ground, though at certain moments it seemed as if those feet had a spring attached to them. It did not take him long to wrap up the first game.
Long, however, showed more promise in the second game. He even had luck on his side as twice an otherwise straightforward return made the bird kiss the net and crash on Lee’s side of the court. At 16-16, it looked as if the crowd might get a contest they deserved. But then, Lee ended a long rally, in which he dived to his right to keep the bird in play, and with another lunge to the left, the resultant drop shot fell a few centimetres short of Long.
RESULTS: Men’s singles: Lee Chong Wei (MAL) bt Chen Long (CHN) 21-13, 21-17; women’s singles: Shixian Wang bt Liu Xuerui 22-20, 21-19; men’s doubles: Mathias Boe/ Carsten Mogensen (DEN) bt Xiaolong Liu/Zihan Qiu (CHN) 17-21, 21-15, 21-15; women’s doubles: Yuanting Tang/Yang Yu (CHN) bt Kyung Eun Jung/Ha Na Kim 21-10, 13-21, 21-16;
mixed doubles: Joachim Fischer Nielsen/Christinna Pedersen (DEN) bt Sung Hyun Ko/Ha Na Kim 21-16, 18-21, 21-18