China power into Thomas Cup final

Thanks to a classy performance by second doubles pair of Zhangs who were not given a ghost of a chance against the Korean tandem. And they provided the fans the best tie of the day.

The earlier proceedings had gone according to the formbook with Xia Xuan Ze proving he is a class above the rest with a polished display against Lee Hyun Il, winning the first singles 15-6 15-5.

Korea, who planned to steal one point from the three singles, revamped their lines-up by sending in 43rd-ranked Lee as the first singles instead of Shon Seung Mo, who had lost all his three group matches.

Veteran campaigner Jae Chang was fielded for the second singles and their new hero Park Tae Sang in third. But the inexperienced Lee was just never up to mark.

Xia started slowly and allowed Lee to take an early 4-2 lead in the first game. But once the All-England champion got his rhythm, Lee was outplayed in every department and only managed two more points.

Xia8217;s superior net play and sharp smashes were simply too good and gave Lee no chance.

World champions Ha Tae Kwon and Kim Dong Moon were not at their best but Yu Jinhao and Chen Qiqiu failed to take advantage, allowing the Koreans to win 15-11 5-15 15-9. Kim almost turned villain for Korea as he was making far too many unforced errors but ha came to the rescue time and again.

They were trailing 7-3 in the first game but came back strongly as the match progressed. They reeled off 11 points in a row to lead 14-7 but Yu-Chen reduced the deficit to 14-11.

The Koreans clinched the first game but Kim totally lost control in the second while leading 3-1, where he committed no less than eight unforced errors in a row to allow the Chinese pair to gain the upperhand and force a decider.