Most of the people in Odense Idrætshal Thursday afternoon expected an easy game for the second seeded Chen Long from China, but it got at bit more difficult than expected when he was up against Rajiv Ouseph from England. In the end he ended up winning 19-21/22-20/21-16.
The crowd in Odense observed a very entertaining game, when Chen Long and Rajiv Ouseph were facing each other. The Chinese star player needed three games, before he was able to win the match.
“It was a bit more difficult than I expected it to be. In the third game, I was just a little bit luckier than he was,” Chen Long says.
Even though Chen Long was very concentrated at the court, he noticed the crowd’s attention.
“It’s really nice to be playing here with so many people watching me. It motivates me to do my absolute best, so that they can watch some good badminton,” he says.
Disappointed opponent
Naturally Rajiv Ouseph was very disappointed after the match. He actually felt he had a good chance of winning after the first game.
“I have mixed feeling right now, I played well but of course I would have liked to win. But I’m really proud that I could play this good against someone as talented as him,” Ouseph says.
Chen Long faces another Chinese player, Chen Yuekun, in the quarter final Friday.