2012 Japan Open: Boonsak Ponsana tames Sho Sasaki to clutch a spot in quarter-finals
Thailand’s spirited shuttler Boonsak Ponsana performed beyond expectations and blew away Sho Sasaki to march into the quarter-finals of the Yonex Japan Open on September 20, 2012.
This Men’s Singles pre quarter-final match was played at the Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo as a huge crowd was there to support the native shuttler.
However, there was nothing to cheer as the Japanese defence collapsed just after 31 minutes and the Thai campaigner stole the limelight with a favourable score position of 21-12 and 21-12.
World Number seven Sho Sasaki, who was country’s biggest bet in this tournament, failed to live up to his billing and faced a shameful exit.
The opening segment of this showdown saw him struggling to revive his lost form and this bad patch continued until the last moment.
Meanwhile, Boonsak Ponsana made the best out of his challenger’s blunders and sealed a splendid straight-set victory.
He was bit confused against the higher ranked opponent in the beginning of first but then a couple of productive rallies boosted his confidence.
Boonsak remained at the lower end until 4-6 but then four valuable points took him to a dominating position of 8-6.
He did not lose focus in the next couple of rallies and finished the first half of the set with a respectable score position of 11.
After the mid-game break, the Thai shuttler injected more intensity in his attack and confined Sho Sasaki in the rear court.
He maintained a significant difference until game point situation and swept the table with an overwhelming margin of 21-12.
The Japanese badminton maestro could not come out of his competitor’s influence in the following game.
Sho Sasaki, who was the fourth seeded player of this tournament, put a below par performance which ultimately led him to a woeful defeat.
First sign of trouble came when he lost a few points in a row and allowed his rival to gain an early advantage.
Boonsak Ponsana capitalised his initial lead and won the second set with a huge difference of nine points.
He placed a decisive figure of 21-12 and qualified for the quarter-finals where another local shuttler Kazumasa Sakai is ready to take him on.
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