WUHAN, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shuttler Chen Long, seeded third, celebrated a hard-fought victory at the badminton Asia Championships here on Friday, bouncing back from one game down to eliminate eighth-seeded Ng Ka Long Angus 22-24, 21-15, 21-17 to reach semifinals.
The two players traded the lead six times in the thrilling decider. The home favorite Chen lost five points when leading by 13-9, and then won five points in a row to reclaim the lead. Although he missed the first two match points at 20-15, he eventually wrapped up the match in one hour 26 minutes.
"I didn't play well when taking the lead on the court, made too many mistakes. But anyway, winning a close game like this can always make me happy," the 29-year-old said.
Chen went into the match with a strong start, taking a 11-6 lead before the break in the first game. But he then committed too many unforced errors which left chances to his rivals. Angus, from Hong Kong of China, took four points in a row when he trailed by 18-16 and eventually concluded the first set 24-22.
"In the first game, I was in the lead most of the time. I thought I should have won it, but I failed," Chen said.
The defending champion fell behind by 11-8 before the break in the second game. But he bounced back in time and strengthened attacks to give his opponent more pressure, which turned out to work well. Chen took the game with four straight points to force a decider.
It is a repeat of last year in the tournament, where Chen defeated Angus at the same stage on the same court.
Chen will take on the winner between Son Wan Ho of South Korea and H.S. Prannoy of India in the semifinal.
