2012 Japan Open: Shoji Sato, Shizuka Matsuo crash out of Mixed Doubles pre quarter-finals
Mixed Doubles partners Shoji Sato and Shizuka Matsuo failed to perform their given role to the perfection and bid farewell to the Yonex Japan Open on Thursday, September 20, 2012.
World Number 15 duo, who was one of the hot favourites in this tournament, could not live up to their billing and knelt down in front of unseeded pair Anders Kristiansen-Julie Houmann of Denmark.
This pre quarter-final tussle was staged at Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo and both contenders remained head-to-head for 56 minutes before reading the final result of 21-18, 16-21 and 21-16.
A decent number of badminton lovers assembled to support the native shuttlers but it was sheer disappointment for them as the local campaigners put up a poor performance and crashed out of the home event.
Though, Shoji Sato and Shizuka Matsuo started their campaign in perfect manner and kept the opposing team under their influence in most part of the opening game but they could not go with the same flow in the final moments.
Meanwhile, the spirited Danish couple showed elevated craft in later part of the game and bagged a vital match point.
Anders and Julie kept a low profile in the beginning and allowed their challengers to enjoy the upper hand at half time.
They started making progress after the interval and left their competitors far behind with a couple of uninterrupted rallies.
The Japanese campaigners strived hard to come out of this deficit but they could not hit the mark until decisive margin of 21-18.
However, Shoji Sato and Shizuka Matsuo managed to save their honour to some extent and avoid a straight-set defeat.
This time they played with right approach and established an unassailable lead in no time. They did not squander this early advantage and capitalised it to finish second set of the match with a favourable score position of 21-16.
The decider became crucial after this development as both teams were standing equal with one win each.
They remained close on points table until the third quarter of the set but then the twosome of Anders and Julie showed superior finishing skills and locked the honour with a staggering knock of 21-16.
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