Badminton Super Series Premier: Victor Korea Open 2012 Semi Finals
| Event: | Victor Korea Open 2012 Semi Final (Super Series Premier) |
| Location: | Seoul, Korea |
| Date: | 7 January 2012 |
| Prize Money: | USD 1,000,000 |
It was just one more step to the finals, and a final shot at earning their first medal of the year.
Lee Yong Dae/Ha Jung Eun (KOR) v Alexandr Nikolaenko/Valeri Sorokina (RUS)
Category: Mixed Doubles
We rarely see Russian players make it to the semi-finals of tournaments such as this Korean Super Series Premier.
On the other hand, Lee Yong Dae and Ha Jung Eun have been a very lethal combination.
It was definitely interesting to watch the badminton talents from Russia go against a strong Korean side.
Wang Shixian (CHN) v Bae Youn Joo (KOR)
Category: Women’s Singles
The women’s singles category has been dominated by the Chinese.
The finals of the recent tournaments have always been an all-Chinese affair.
Bae Youn Joo presence in the semi-finals of the Korea Open 2012 signified a changing trend in 2012. As the match was played on home ground for the Korean, there was a slight advantage for Bae.
Quick stats: This match was the 6th encounter between these players. Bae had never defeated Wang Shixian before.
Cai Yun/Fu Hai Feng (CHN) v Ko Sung Hyun/Yoo Yeon Seong (KOR)
Category: Men’s Doubles
The 2 sides have met each other for 7 times prior to this match.
Based on their previous encounters, Cai and Fu have been the stronger pair. However, Ko and Yoo was successful at maintaining their world ranking within the top 5 for about the past 9 months.
It was difficult to tell who would win this time.
Xu Chen/Ma Jin (CHN) v Joachim Fischer/Christinna Pedersen (DEN)
Category: Mixed Doubles
Winner: Xu Chen/Ma Jin
Score: 21-17 21-8
Xu Chen and Ma Jin were new. Their partnership was formed barely a year ago before this match.
The Danes defeated the Chinese in 3 straight tournaments around the final quarter of 2011.
It was supposed to be difficult to predict the winner and spectators expected a competitive battle.
Surprisingly, the Danes were totally out of form. Countless unforced errors kept coming from the Danish pair.
A relatively one sided game, might not be worth watching.
Lin Dan (CHN) v Sho Sasaki (JPN)
Category: Men’s Singles
Winner: Lin Dan
Score: 21-16 21-14
We saw Lin Dan toying with Jan O Jorgensen in the quarter finals a day before this semi-finals match.
In this match however, Lin Dan took this game quite seriously.
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