PBL 2017-18: MATCH REPORT -- Delhi Dashers with a 4-1 win over NE Warriors enter SF
DELHI DASHERS defeat North Eastern Warriors 4-1 to enter semi-finals of PBL season 3.
It was a positive start for NE Warriors as their mixed doubles duo of Michelle Li and Shin Baek won the match beating Vladimir Ivanov in straight games 15-13, 15-11.
But the scores were soon levelled by Delhi's men's singles shuttler Wong Wing Ki Vincent who is known for his comeback fight as he defeated Ajay Jayaram 15-13, 10-15, 15-12.
NE Warriors then had a chance to extend the lead as their men's singles shuttler Wang Tzu Wei was playing the trump match against Tian Houwei. But the latter was just too good on court as he won the opening game 15-10 but it was an easy win for Wang as he took the second 15-8 to push the match into a decider.
The final game score at interval favoured Wang 8-2 but what happened post that was something magical for Tian and his team. Wang was racing to the match point but then Tian was slowly creeping in with some good shots on display and forcing Wang to make those unforced errors.
Tian was successful in doing so as after he levelled at 11-11, there was no turning back from there as raced to victory with 15-11. The tie score read as 2-0 in favour of Delhi.
This put the hopes of NE Warriors hopes of making it to the semi-finals very slim. This was followed by the trump match of Delhi where Sung Ji Hyun was taking on Michelle.
The Korean had a good chance to seal the tie for her team but there was an early scare as she lost the opening game 13-15. But the comeback she displayed was commendable as she won the following two games 15-11, 15-13 to seal the deal for the Dashers. Delhi led 4-0 with one match remaining.
The final match between men's doubles went to the NE Warriors pair of Shin Baek/Kim Gi Jung to end their season with a win. They defeated Vladimir Ivanov/Ivan Sozonov in a hard fought three games 9-15, 15-10, 15-9 to take one point from this tie.
Delhi Dashers with a 4-1 win has secured a place in the semi-finals.
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