New Delhi, Apr 29: Olympic-bound shuttler Shon Wan Ho of Korea showcased a stunning display of true grit to shock defending champion Lee Chong Wei in the summit clash and clinch his maiden Super Series title, at the India Open badminton tournament here today.
The world number 17, who had earned his ticket to London after beating former All England champion Peter Gade in the quarterfinals, showed nerves of steel as he edged past the world number one 21-18 14-21 21-19 in the men's singles summit clash, which lasted for an hour and six minutes.
In the women's singles, sixth seed German Juliane Schenk gave a mighty scare to world number four Li Xuerui before losing 21-14 17-21 8-21 in the final, which lasted for 47 minutes.
Egged by a sporting crowd at the Siri Fort Complex, Shon Wan opened up a 9-4 lead in the first game and even though the experienced Lee tried to catch up at 12-12 and moved neck-and-neck till 18-18, the Korean held his fort.
In the second game, Lee gathered himself and surged ahead to a 7-1 lead. Shon clawed back at 12-12 with the help of his razor-sharp smashes. However, the world number one didn't allow the Korean to bounce back.
In the decider, Shon lead 11-7 at the interval. Lee soon started inducing Shon to commit mistakes. The Malaysian varied the pace and occasionally used his smashes to finish off the points to lead at 19-18.
However, the Korean was not the one to let go off the opportunity. He involved Lee in net play and wrested back control at 20-19. Serving for the match, Shon took his time. In anticipation, Lee rushed with his return and found the net as Shon burst into celebration.
