It will be repeat Commonwealth Games final with Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei taking on India’s K. Srikanth in the quarter-finals in the Wuhan City of Automobile Badminton Asia Championships in Wuhan.
In a second round men’s singles match Chong Wei, seeded No 5, had come back from a game down to beat Indonesia’s Anthony Ginting 16-21, 21-9, 21-11 in an hour-long match.
The badminton fans at the Wuhan Sports Center rooted for the 35-year-old Malaysian who has a large following in China.
This is the first time Chong Wei played the Indonesian youngster but the Malaysian showed that he still had plenty of fire in him as he dictated play once he got into the rhythm.
Ginting took injured his right ankle midway in the decider and needed medical attention on court with the score 13-8 in favour Chong Wei.
The head to head clash against Srikanth stands 5-1 in Chong Wei’s favour. His only defeat to Srikanth came in the mixed team final between India and Malaysia. India won the mixed team gold 3-1 for their historic win in the Commonwealth Games.
However, Chong Wei gained sweet revenge for his defeat in the mixed team final by defeating Srikanth in the men’s singles final for the gold medal.
“I have no plans whatsoever for the quarter-final match in Wuhan. It is just another match in the tournament. I am pleased with my performance here and I will give my best,” said Chong Wei after the match.
For Ginting, he believes that it would have been a better fight if he had not slipped in the deciding game.
“To a certain extent the ankle injury affected my play. This is is an old injury and hopefully it is nothing serious,” said Ginting.
SELECTED RESULTS (SECOND ROUND)
Men’s singles
Lee Chong Wei (Mas) beat Anthony Ginting (Ina) 16-21. 21-9, 21-11
Chou Tien-chen (Tpe) beat Khosit Phetpradab (Tha) 21-18, 18-21, 21-13
