Semifinals Day inputs.. ..okay, here they are..sorry, all of SF videos won't be ready til probably Monday, at the earliest..(slow internet connection).. XD1 - KANG Ji Wook & CHOI Hye In vs. OW Yao Han & LAI Pei Jing. The MAS pair started fast and furious in the first game & opened a 9-1 lead @ one time. But the KOR pair was never rattled as they steadily and surely found their rhythm to notch up the score and winged by the MAS pair. In the 2nd game, it was the same as the KOR pair built up the momentum from the 1st game to clinch the 2nd game. Overall, i thought Lai Pei Jing was the weak link in both pairs. She made a few more errors than the KOR gal as the KOR pair started to focus their attacks on LPJ. XD2 - Cheng LIU & Yixin BAO vs. Max SCHWENGER & Isabel HERTTRICH. The Germans tried their best in the 1st game to keep up with the CHN pair, but the CHN pair was just 1.5 steps ahead. It was the same in the 2nd game. MD1 - Nelson Wei Keat HEG & Ee Yi TEO vs. Chun Hei LEE & Ka Long NG. Both pairs were about even-steven, i would say. But the MAS pair seemed to be a bit more focused & had a bit more in the tank in the 3rd game after losing the 1st game. The HK pair was banging away in the 1st game, but seemed to lose their sting in the 2nd game as the MAS pair's defense held them through. Nelson Heg, imo, is the better player between the two. MD2 - Yao Han OW & Hong Kheng YEW vs. Kim ASTRUP & Rasmus FLADBERG. Last match of the day & it was a very well contested match, esp. in the 2nd game. I know the MAS fans and players were nervous as the DEN pair had 2 chances to force a rubber game, which were stolen from them. This particular MAS pair is, imo, still missing the communication part. I noticed on a couple of occasions, they were a bit confused as to who should retrieve the shuttle, thus they ended up clashing their rackets and making an error. I thought between both players, Ow YH is a better player. MS1 - Viktor AXELSEN & Sai Praneet B. The 2nd best match of the day. Viktor started out a bit slow as Praneet went to work fast in dictating the tempo to secure the 1st game. But with Morten Frost on his side (sitting behind him), the young Dane slowly but surely figured out how to play against Praneet; most likely his 1st time playing him. I thought the 1st game for Axelsen was like a warm-up & "feeling the opponent out" game. It was totally different in the 2nd game as Viktor began to dictate the tempo by making Praneet move all over the court as Praneet started to make more errors. In the 3rd game, it was the same as Viktor stayed focused, calm and patient to earn his well deserved victory. MS2 - Ji Wook KANG & Prannoy H.S. Kang Ji Wook is definitely the player of the tournament, eventhough he might lose his MS match or both of his matches. Not only will he play in the MS Final, but also in the XD Final. His SF match went pretty quick as Kang simply toyed with Prannoy. His match against Axelsen tomorrow should be an interesting one. WS1 - Ratchanok INTANON vs. Naoko FUKUMAN. The defending WJC WS champ showed why she wants to go back and defend her title. She was simply one class above her opponent and led throughout most if not all of the match. WS2 - Misaki MATSUTOMO vs. Di SUO. The best match of the day and definitely the most emotional. The crowd was definitely treated to a very entertaining match. It was a classic example of a fighting spirit & never give up attitude at its best. Suo Di started out strong in the 1st game. But the young Japanese never gave up and she showed it throughout the 2nd game. Toward the end of the 2nd game, one of the loudest voices came out of his stringing area to lend his support for the Japanese gal (you'll hear it in the video). With him belting out "Ganbarre! Ganbarre!", in between chants by the local supporters, Matsumoto clinched a hard fought 2nd game to win a close 22-20 game and force the decisive rubber game. IMO, her winning that game probably deflated a bit of Suo Di's spirit. In the 3rd game, with the momentum on her side, Matsumoto started off strong. However, with the score at 18-15 for Matsumoto, Suo Di showed why she is considered CHN's top WS player for her age group. She came back to tie the score at 18 a piece. But by literally reaching 18 pts, first, it was almost a guaranteed win for Matsumoto. At the end, Misaki's grit & determination pulled her through as Suo Di failed to retrieve Misaki's winning drop shot sending Misaki jumping on her feet and her supporters in jubilation. Both players deserved a big round of applause nonetheless. Suo Di's very long time by herself, filled with tears, definitely reflected her tough loss. WD1 - Jinhua TANG & Huan XIA vs. Hye In CHOI & So Hee LEE. Another long battle between both pairs. I thought the KOR should've won the 1st game with ease. But the CHN pair's defense was pretty rock solid throughout. The KORs threw every and any kind of smashes only to see them being returned time and time again. And they did a lot of jumpsmashes, too! In the 2nd game, the CHN pair finally started to dictate the pace as the KOR pair seemed to be tired out. It was pretty much the same in the 3rd game. WD2 - Yixin BAO & Dongni OU vs. Sandra-Maria JENSEN & Line KJæRSFELDT . I lost interest 1/3 of the way in the 1st game. The Danes gave their best but it was just too much for them to handle. The CHN pair hardly even smash throughout the game.
thanks chris for the article yup lai pei jing was so upset about herself after the defeat big and hurt lesson yup,nelson is the better player ow yao han is the better player as u said the problem u saw in the semi is why they lost twice in ajc final i wont surprise if nelson/teo win it
..one thing i noticed abt Lai Pei Jing is the way she serves. She has this little hitch/motion and racket movement (up then down) just seconds before she hits the shuttle. I guess to distract the receiving player to follow her racket's movement.
