2012 Bitburger Badminton Open: Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif gains access to pre quarter-final round
Malaysia’s talented campaigner Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif played with great conviction and ensured his presence in the pre quarter-finals of Bitburger Badminton Open Grand Prix Gold on October 31, 2012.
He stamped Vitaly Konov of Ukraine by registering final figures of 18-21, 21-19 and 21-15 in a hard fought 45-minute tussle.
Though, World Number 46 Arif had a horrendous start but he did not lose heart and saved some honour by prevailing in the ending two games.
Meanwhile, Vitaly Konov frittered away his efforts in the crucial moments and bid farewell to this Grand Prix Gold event.
In the opening game, he matched his rival’s skills and remained equal on the points table until 6-6. He ruled the court in five consecutive rallies and finished first half of the set with a respectable score position of 11-6.
Later part of the game saw the Ukrainian shuttler making some mistakes which allowed his competitor to narrow the gap.
However, Vitaly counter-balanced the situation with couple of productive rallies in the end and bagged first match point with an impressive margin of 21-18.
The Malaysian shuttler switched on his best after going one down. He established an unassailable lead by putting 9-5 total and then magnified the impact with an indomitable figure of 11 before the half time.
After the one-minute interval, Arif injected more intensity in his attack and confined the opposing shuttler in the rear court.
He moved swiftly across the court and gathered valuable points at a steady pace. This crucial set ended with scoreboard flashing a tight yet decisive margin of 21-19.
The decider became consequential after this development and both contenders made every effort to claim this final match point.
They stood toe-to-toe until the mid-game break as neither of them could make a notable difference.
However, the second half was completely dominated by Arif Latif as he did not give his challenger even a single chance to come back.
He dominated Vitaly with a staggering knock of 21-15 and reserved his spot in the pre quarter-finals.
Now he will lock horns with Lukas Schmidt and a win will take him into round of eight of this tournament.
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