2012 Japan Open: Yong Zhao Ashton Chen move into second stage of Men’s Singles qualifying round
Men’s Singles shuttler Yong Zhao Ashton Chen raised his chances to excel in the Yonex Japan Open after thrashing Shu Wada in the qualifying round at Yoyogi National Stadium of Tokyo on September 18, 2012.
This opening encounter kept both contenders busy on the court for 30 minutes before ending with final figures of 22-20 and 21-12.
The Singaporean campaigner played cautiously in the beginning but the first set win restored his confidence which helped him to transform this 1-0 lead into a straight-set win.
On the other hand, Shu Wada could not capitalise the home crowd and ground advantage and crashed out of the tournament.
The battle heated up when both shuttlers put all in their possession to establish their grip over the game.
In first half of the set, Yong Zhao bagged six uninterrupted points and pushed his rival on the back-foot but he could not go with same flow in the next couple of rallies.
The Japanese shuttler counter-balanced the situation with seven points in a row and remained close in score position until the mid-game break.
Though, he enjoyed the upper hand in third quarter of the set but then few unforced errors weakened his grip.
Yong Zhao did not squander this opportunity and made swift progress to narrow the gap. He showed superior finishing skills and survived this nerve-racking segment with a favourable margin of 22-20.
The second set proved a dead contest in second half as the local shuttler hardly put any resistance and knelt down tamely.
Shu Wada remained at the lower end permanently and allowed his competitor to seal a straight-set victory.
First sign of trouble came when the Japanese campaigner got dazzled in some back-to-back opening rallies. He could not come out of his challenger’s influence all the way to game point situation.
Meanwhile, the Singaporean player mounted pressure and maintained a respectable difference until the interval.
Yong Zhao started second half of the set with the upper hand in 11-6 margin and raised his lead to 15-10 immediately after the break.
He did not lose this rhythm and cruised to victory with a staggering knock of 21-12.
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