2012 French Open: Lukas Schmidt outshines Ivan Sozonov to secure a berth in main round
Men’s Singles shuttler Lukas Schmidt gained access to the main round of Yonex French Badminton Open after thrashing Ivan Sozonov in the qualifying round on October 23, 2012.
This crucial battle took place in local badminton arena of Paris and both contenders remained head-to-head for 45 minutes before reaching the climax with concluding figures of 22-24, 21-11 and 21-18.
The victorious shuttler displayed great fighting spirit and locked the honour despite of going down in the opening game.
On the other hand, the Russian campaigner could not continue with his top form and knelt down in ending two sets.
In first set of the match, Ivan Sozonov matched his rival’s skills and bagged a vital match point in a commendable manner.
Though, he put a fluctuated performance but still his honest effort helped him in final stage of the set.
He gained a decent advantage with four consecutive points in the beginning but then a few back-to-back mistakes weakened his grip.
The German shuttler relished full benefits of his opponent’s blunders and placed an indomitable total of 11-7.
However, Ivan bounced back with a strong reply and levelled the score with 17-17 in third quarter of the set. Both players remained close until 22-21 but then Ivan tipped the scale in his favour with 24-22 margin.
Lukas Schmidt did not lose heart after this first set loss and counter-balanced the situation by showing elevated craft in the following game.
This time he played with an authoritative approach and established a notable lead with 7-2 score. He did not lose focus at any stage of the game and performed exceptionally well while hanging by thread to stay alive.
He maintained a significant advantage of ten points and swept the table with an overwhelming figure of 21-11.
The German campaigner made the best out of his form and confounded the opposing shuttler in the third set. He mounted pressure by piling up a mountainous total of 11 and then dominated Ivan with a staggering knock of 21-18.
Now Lukas is scheduled to meet the Malaysian shuttler Wei Feng Chong in the main draw of 2012 French Open.
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