On April 30, the final round of the group stage competition for the Chengdu 2024 Tang You Cup began.
Chuanguan News reporter Xue Jian Hua Xiaofeng text/picture
On April 30, the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup Final (hereinafter referred to as the Chengdu 2024 Thomas Cup) will start the final round of the group stage. In Group A of the Thomas Cup, the Chinese men's badminton team ushered in a strong challenge from the South Korean team. After more than 5 hours of fierce battle, the Chinese badminton men's team finally defeated the South Korean team 3:2 and won the first place in Group A, the South Korean team ranked second, and both teams advanced to the quarterfinals.
Shi Yuqi in the game.
Before the start of this game, both Chinese and South Korean teams advanced to the quarterfinals in advance by virtue of two consecutive wins in the group stage. However, in this game, the Chinese badminton men's team still sent all the main players to play: Shi Yuqi and Li Shifeng appeared in succession, Lu Guangzu served as the third singles, and the two doubles positions were Wang Chang/Liang Weikeng and Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi. South Korea, on the other hand, sent substitutes to play, and the third singles Woo Seung-hoon was ranked only 1,439 in the world. However, South Korea fielded the current world No. 2 pair Kang Min-hyuk/Seo Seung-jae against the world No.1 pair of Chinese Men's Doubles pair Liang Wei Keng/Wang Chang in the men's No. 1 doubles event – a match that was particularly eye-catching for the top spot in the group.
In the first set, China's top men's singles Shi Yuqi faced the challenge of South Korea's Jeon Yi Chen, who is ranked 47th in the world. In the first game between the two sides, Shi Yuqi, who was a little lightly defeated, was defeated by his opponent 21:14. In the second game, the two sides were entangled, but fortunately, Shi Yuqi stabilized his position at the critical moment and pulled back a city at 21:17. In the third game, Shi Yuqi took advantage of the victory to chase and defeated the opponent 21:7, helping the Chinese badminton men's team get the first point. The set took 1 hour and 08 minutes, which shows how tough the game was.
Shi Yuqi
"The opponent is very fast, and I don't do as well as the opponent in some details in the high-speed confrontation, so try to relax the rhythm a little later. At the end of the game, Shi Yuqi reviewed the twists and turns of the game, "I think we still need to stay calm on the court, after all, this is a confrontation project, and we still have to analyze some situations on the court more." In the first singles position, I didn't feel too much pressure, and I hope to keep that mentality when I meet stronger opponents in the next matches. ”
Men's Doubles pair Leung Wai Hang/Wang Chang in the match.
The second set of the Men's Doubles was one of the most intense matches of the day. This is the third direct dialogue between the top two pairs in the world. On the first two occasions, the two pairs won one game each. When they met again this time, the two sides launched an attack as soon as they came up. In the first game, the Korean combination took the lead 21:16, and in the second game, the "Liang Wang combination" returned the color with 21:15. In the crucial third game, the two sides played even more stalemate. The Korean team made a late effort to win the tiebreaker 21:15 and helped the Korean team tie the total score to 1:1. The defeat was also the second consecutive defeat for Leung Wai Hang/Wong Chang after losing to their opponent in the BWF World Tour Finals in December 2023. Regarding the consecutive losses, Leung Wai Keng found problems in himself: "The opponent is more comprehensive, South Korea is also more famous in defense, and we are ready to play more shots, but they did a firmer job than us in the second half." ”
Li Shifeng in the game.
Fortunately, Li Shifeng, who appeared later, did not let the accident happen again, facing Li Youkui, who is only ranked 123rd in the world, Li Shifeng lost two games in straight sets, defeating the opponent 21:15, 21:9, helping the Chinese badminton men's team to take the lead again in the total score.
Men's Doubles pair Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi.
In the fourth Men's Doubles match, world No. 8 Liu Yuchen/Ou Xuanyi faced world No. 303 Qi Dongzhu/Kim Won-ho, and they also fell into a bitter battle. After beating their opponents 21-17 in the first game, they encountered a stubborn counterattack from their opponents in the second game and lost the second game 17-21. In the deciding game, the Chinese pair was overtaken by their opponents and lost the game 21:23 when they took the lead in getting the set point. 2:2, the Chinese and South Korean teams returned to the same running line again.
In the deciding set, facing Yu Shengxun, who is ranked 1439th in the world, Lu Guangzu opened with full firepower and took the lead 21:10. In the second game, Lu Guangzu took a 7:1 lead as soon as he came up, although Yu Shengxun once approached the score, but Lu Guangzu did not give the opponent a chance, ended the battle with 21:15, and finally helped the Chinese badminton men's team defeat the South Korean team 3:2 and won the first place in Group A of this Thomas Cup.