Michelle Li’s stunning upset of Carolina Marin could not prevent Canada from falling 2-3 to Spain in a sub-group 2A tie at the Vivo BWF Sudirman Cup yesterday.Spain thus eked out its first victory to come third in the sub-group. Netherlands topped the sub-group with an impressive 4-1 win over Singapore.
But the match of the day was the Commonwealth Games champion Li against World Champion Carolina Marin. Spain had taken the lead thanks to Ernesto Velazquez/Beatriz Corrales in Mixed Doubles over Toby Ng/Alex Bruce, followed by Pablo Abian’s three-game win over Andrew D'Souza in Men’s Singles.
Through the early part of the match, Li looked overwhelmed by Marin. The World Champion appeared too quick and powerful for the Canadian, who was deflated and moved with leaden feet. From 13-16 down, however, Li suddenly switched to another level, moving fast and smashing hard to get on level terms. From there it was a bitter contest, with both players throwing themselves around to extend the rallies. Li looked to have blown an opportunity when she served long at 19-18, but she kept her composure and stayed in the match. She saved three match points before converting her fourth to take the match to a decider.
The last game continued in the same vein; Marin had two more opportunities to close out the match but Li was exceptional under pressure, finally converting her second match point for a memorable victory: 12-21 27-25 24-22 in 79 minutes.
“This has to be one of my best performances, after my Commonwealth Games victory,” said Li. “I’m happy I could play at this level and beat the World champion.”
With Adrian Liu/Derrick Ng storming past Luis Enrique Penalver/Ernesto Velazquez in Men’s Doubles, Canada appeared in sight of a stunning turnaround. However, Marin returned with Beatriz Corrales and held off Alex Bruce/Phyllis Chan 17-21 21-17 21-13 to ensure victory for Spain.