2012 China Masters: Huan Gao thrashes Sai Praneeth in Men’s Singles qualification round
Men’s Singles campaigner Huan Gao registered his presence in the Li Ning China Masters by overpowering Sai Praneeth B. in the qualification round on Tuesday, September 11, 2012.
This splendid win took him into the second stage where he will test his skills against US shuttler Sattawat Pongnairat to gain access to the main draw of this Super Series event.
Earlier in his opening match, Huan Gao played with great precision and won this 88-minute battle with favourable result of 21-13, 18-21 and 22-20.
The Chinese campaigner locked the honour by grabbing the opening and ending match points whereas the opposing shuttler could rise only in the second set.
In the first set, he kick-started his campaign with a flurry of power packed strokes which landed in the right areas and fetched valuable points in a row.
Huan Gao carried this rhythm in the next couple of rallies and doubled his lead just before the interval.
He finished first half of the set with a decent total of 11 and relished full benefits of this initial advantage in the latter part of the game.
The Indian player strived hard to come out of his rival’s influence but failed to hit the mark and surrendered after reading 13-21 score on the board.
However, Sai Praneeth managed to bring the contest to right balance by clinching very next match point with distinction.
This time he played with positive approach and established a respectable lead in no time. He prevailed in few consecutive rallies and cornered his opponent.
At half time, Sai Praneeth was enjoying the upper hand with a notable difference and he capitalised this psychological edge after the interval.
Though, he dropped some points in the third quarter of the set but reinstated his supremacy with a strong reply. He placed a winning margin of 21-18 and setup a nerve-racking third set.
The decider proved the most captivating chapter of this saga as both shuttlers pushed each other in all areas of the court and made this a memorable contest.
They kept chasing each other until game point situation and this cliff-hanging encounter ended when the Chinese player put a tight yet decisive total of 22-20.
Tags: