China’s top player Lin Dan, who is current World Champion, had to work extra hard to get rid of his lower ranked opponent Sho Sasaki of Japan in a well fought contest at the semi-final stage of Thomas Cup Finals on Friday, May 25, in China.
The World Number Two Lin, who remained impressive in all of his matches in Thomas Cup, had to dig into his reserves to outplay a stubborn Sasaki who is currently number 6 in the world.
Lin struggled hard in the opening set and bagged it with a tight margin. However, he found a good flow in the second game and took it with a reasonable score on the board.
On the other hand, Sasaki showed his class and troubled his higher ranked opponent in the opening game but remained unlucky in the ending points and lost the set.
Nonetheless, in the second game he failed to put up strong show and lost the battle in straight sets.
In the first game, Lin tried to play aggressive badminton in his usual fast style but failed to take advantage at any stage in the game as his Japanese rival showed his class and remained toe-to-toe until the one-minute interval.
After the break, Lin injected more pace in his shots but failed to create any difference on the board as his lower ranked opponent was playing impressive badminton.
Lin reached at 20-17 when Sasaki put up staggering show and saved three set points by making the score levelled.
Both players reached at 21-21 when Lin showed his class and managed to secure the game with a superb margin of 23-21.
In the second game, Sasaki played wonderful badminton and dominated the pace of rallies in the opening half.
However, Lin showed a wonderful aggression and levelled the score until the one-minute break.
After the one-minute interval, the higher ranked Chinese shuttler played with precision and took the set in a dominating manner with a 21-17 score on the board.
The impressive Lin won this important fight in straight games by a thrilling margin of 23-21 and 21-17.
