Victor Korea Open 2012 Match Report: Chinese Dominate While Chong Wei Prevents a Clean Sweep

The Victor Korea Open 2012 is the first Super Series Premier event of the year.

In an attempt to celebrate the opening of the second season of the OSIM BWF World Super Series event, the tournament has attracted a total prize money pool of USD1 million.

The Koreans stood strong at their home ground to secure those precious titles.

The Chinese dominated at the Seoul Olympic Gymnasium. The Chinese had a shot on every title offered at the Victor Korea Open 2012.

The final day featured a fierce battle between the Chinese and the Koreans. Both sides fought very hard.

The main event of the tournament was none other than the world no.1 Lee Chong Wei (MAS) against his nemesis and greatest opponent, Lin Dan (CHN).

Lee Chong Wei was the only non-Korean or non-Chinese to compete in the finals of the Korean Super Series 2012.

Cai Yun/Fu Hai Feng (CHN) vs Jung Jae Sung/Lee Yong Dae (KOR)

The finals of the men’s doubles featured world no.1 Cai and Fu against the world no.2 Jung and Lee.

Interestingly, Jung and Lee won most of the previous matches against Cai and Fu. The Koreans had 10 victories while the Chinese only 9.

It was highly anticipated that Jung and Lee (also the defending champions in this tournament) would secure their second Korean Super Series Premier title.

The first reason was that the Koreans had home ground advantage. Secondly, they had a relatively good win-loss ratio against the Chinese.

Everything went according to plan when Jung and Lee won the first game. Their morale was lifted and the crowd got behind them.

The momentum swung in a different direction in the second game. Cai and Fu secured the second game then successfully won the rubber match.

The match ended at 18-21, 21-17, and 21-19.

The men’s doubles final was a classic, fast paced, and high intensity match between the 2 best badminton pair in the world.

Jung fired fast and powerful smashes. Both sides tried to force each other into errors and weak returns.

Click on the few links below to watch the recent match encounters between Jung Jae Sung/Lee Yong Dae and Cai Yun/Fu Hai Feng.

• Yonex Denmark Open 2011 men’s doubles final
• Yonex French Open 2011 men’s doubles final
• Li Ning China Masters 2011 men’s doubles final

Lee Chong Wei (MAS) vs Lin Dan (CHN)

The men’s singles event featured the fierce battle between the world no.1 and no.2 singles player in the world.

Previous Encounters

In 2011, these 2 men met each other in 5 tournaments. They were the:

• Yonex All England 2011
• Victor Korea Open 2011
• BWF Badminton World Championships 2011
• Yonex Sunrise Hong Kong Open 2011
• Li Ning China Open 2011

Lee Chong Wei only won in 1 out of the 5 meetings! He beat Lin Dan in the Yonex All England 2011.

Lin Dan truly is the Malaysian’s biggest rival.

Match Report

In this men’s singles final of the Victor Korea Open 2012, Lee Chong Wei lost the first game to Lin Dan.

This was due to the unforced errors made by the Malaysian. There were a few instances where he made poor judgements as well.

This was very costly and Chong Wei knew it. Frustration was evident through his facial expressions.

Even in the second game, Chong Wei continued to struggle. At this point, Lin Dan decided increased the pace and became more aggressive.

The Malaysian’s hope of winning was hanging on a thread. Lin Dan continued to lead. This was when the crowd support started to grow.

The determination and sacrifice from the Malaysian finally rewarded him as he turned the game around to take the lead.

This time, it was Lin Dan who made unforced errors when he tried to increase the pace of the game.

The world no.1 was on fire in the third game. He took the lead, widened the score gap, and finally ended the match as the winner of the Korean Super Series Premier!

The score was 12-21, 21-18, 21-14.

What Next?

Lee Chong Wei started a new year strong by securing this Victor Korea Open gold medal. Will he win the upcoming Badminton world Championships and the precious Olympics GOLD as he takes his last shot of those titles this year?

The very next OSIM BWF World Super Series tournament is the Maybank Malaysia Open 2012, which will be held from 10-15 January 2012 at Bukit Jalil, Malaysia.

Click here for information on the Maybank Malaysian Open 2012 event program.