While Kien Keat froze when fielded with an inexperienced Goh V Shem in the Group C tie against Denmark on Tuesday, the gifted Yong-dae cleverly guided his debutant partner Kim Sa-rang to clinch the winning point en route to helping South Korea beat Denmark 3-1 in the Thomas Cup semi-finals at the Wuhan Sports Gymnasium Centre.
Yong-dae-Sa-rang staged a remarkable comeback from a severe beating in the opening game to defeat Denmark’s secret weapons – Jonas Rasmussen-Joachim Fischer Nielsen – 11-21, 21-19, 21-15 in a gruelling one hour and 13-minute match.
South Korea will be making only their second final appearance in the competition and will attempt to win their first Cup when they take on China today.
The scratch pair of Yong-dae-Sa-Rang took to the court after South Korea had won two points through their old guard Lee Hyun-il and rising star Shon Wan-ho, the India Open champion.
In a battle of veterans, Hyun-il showed his superiority at the net with deceptive shots to defeat Peter-Gade Christensen 17-21, 21-14, 21-10 while Wan-ho also oozed class en route to downing Jan O Jorgensen 21-13, 14-21, 21-16.
Fighters: South Korea’s Lee Yong-dae (front) and Kim Sa-rang celebrate after winning their match against Denmark’s Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Jonas Rasmussen in the semi-final. GLENN GUAN/The Star
The Koreans dropped one point through Ko Sung-hyun-Yoo Yeon-seong, who suffered a 10-21, 12-21 hammering at the hands of world No. 3 Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen.
With his regular partner Jung Jae-sung back home nursing a back injury, Yong-dae was under tremendous pressure to deliver the goods with first-timer Sa-rang.
But there was no need to fret as Yong-dae did not disappoint.
Said the 22-year-old Sa-rang: “There was so much pressure on me and I was so nervous but Yong-dae kept encouraging me despite the demoralising defeat in the first game. I followed his lead and this was the key to our success.”
Said the 23-year-old Yong-dae: “We went in with South Korea leading 2-1 but we felt the pressure. It showed in our first game but we did not give up and we continued fighting, showing more fire and enthusiasm to take South Korea into the final.”
Rasmussen, the 2003 world champion, admitted that they let slip a golden chance to save the tie for Denmark.
“We knew that we were up against one of the best doubles player in Yong-dae, although he did not have his usual partner with him. We knew it would be close,” said Rasmussen.
“We came out firing in the opening game but the Koreans kept fighting and keep pushing us deeper into trouble. If they did not so stubbornly persevere, we would have seen our youngster Viktor (Axelsen) in action. We lost to a better pair and we congratulate them.”
On the match against China, South Korea’s head coach Sung Han-kook said: “China are the favourites but it will be a good match.”
In the 2008 final, China ended South Korea’s hopes of winning their first Cup with a 3-0 victory in Jakarta.
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