2012 Flypower Bali Open: Ihsan Maulana Mustofa stamps Muh. Saripudin to surge into third round
Men’s Singles campaigner Ihsan Maulana Mustofa remained invincible in the second round of Djarum Sirnas Flypower Bali Open and marched into the pre quarter-finals on November 6, 2012.
He unseated Muh. Saripudin to secure a berth in the third round and he had to sweat hard for 35 minutes to achieve his goal with 21-19 and 22-20 margin.
Ihsan Mustofa, who is the second seeded player of this tournament, played impeccable badminton and wrapped this showdown in just two segments.
On the other hand, Saripudin also displayed great fighting skills and walked tall despite of receiving a straight-set defeat.
The battle heated up immediately in the beginning of first set as both contenders employed all of the brilliance in the game to gain an early advantage.
They stood toe-to-toe and did not allow each other to make a notable difference until the last shot was played.
Initially, Ihsan made a swift progress with couple of uninterrupted points but the opposing shuttler counter-balanced the situation with few productive rallies.
Saripudin picked up some pace and got into commanding position by piling up a decent total before the announcement of break.
However, he could not show consistency in the later part of the game and lost his grip over the game.
Both contenders were poles apart in terms of performance as Ihsan did not make any mistakes and ruled the court in the final stage.
He bagged many valuable points without any interruption and setup the following set with an impressive score of 21-19.
The following game proved real test of mental and physical strength for both shuttlers as it kept swinging between them until game point situation.
In first half of the set, Ihsan relished full benefits of his first set win and established a respectable lead but then he made some unforced errors which allowed the opposing shuttler to proceed.
Saripudin raised his chances to excel by prevailing in few gruelling rallies in a row but then he frittered away his effort when it was needed the most.
Ihsan showed strong nerve in the pressure situation and raised hands as victor after putting 22-20 margin.
This splendid win led him to the pre quarter-finals where he will be up against another compatriot shuttler Yoga Sidik.
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