Porntip dreams end in the final
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Porntip Buranaprasertsuk's Cinderella run in the Adidas China Masters came to a disappointing end when she lost in the women's singles final to China's Xin Liu 21-4 13-21 21-12 in Changzhou yesterday.
A day after stunning world No 1 and Olympic champion Li Xuerui Li of China 21-16 15-21 22-20 in the semi-finals, Porntip, looked all set to capture her second Super Series title since winning in India two years ago. But she failed to maintain the super-duper form that she displayed on Saturday.
The world No 18 started the match awkwardly, trailing 2-11 in the first game before managing to win only two more points from the 114th ranked Chinese who took the first game 21-4 in just 11 minutes.
Porntip, who previously had lost to Xin twice in Indonesia and Australian Open in straight games in 2011, raised the level of her game by producing rich shots from her repertoire to take a 11-6 lead over Xin before losing 21-13 in the second game.
However, the 23-year-old Chinese who reached No 5 in the world two years ago, regained her composure in the decisive game, using drop shots and fierce smashes to keep the nervous Porntip off her comfort zone. She quickly led 6-0 and carried the momentum to win her first Super Series title after 53 minutes of play.
The next stop for badminton players is the Yonex Japan Open, which starts tomorrow. World No 2 Ratchanok Intanon, after skipping the Chinese event due to a back injury, will play in the tournament.
Results
Men’s singles: Wang Zhengming (CHN x7) bt Son Wan-Ho (KOR) 11-21, 21-14, 24-22
Men’s doubles: Ko Sung-Hyun/Lee Yong-Dae (KOR x1) bt Hiroyuki Endo/Kenichi Hayakawa (JPN x2) 25-23, 21-19
Women’s doubles: Wang Xiaoli/Yu Yang (CHN x1) bt Ma Jin/Tang Jinhua (CHN x2) 21-17, 21-16
Mixed doubles: Zhang Nan/Zhao Yunlei (CHN x2) bt Yoo Yeon-Seong/Eom Hye-Won (KOR) 21-18, 21-12.
