2012 Japan Open: Zi Liang Derek Wong beats Kento Momota to clear Men’s Singles qualifying round
Singapore’s Zi Liang Derek Wong played with great conviction and took his country to the main round of the Yonex Japan Open on Tuesday, September 18, 2012.
He surpassed the local campaigner Kento Momota by registering concluding figures of 21-13 and 21-14 in the 27-minute encounter.
This Men’s Singles match was played at Yoyogi National Stadium of Tokyo and a huge crowd was present to encourage the native shuttler.
However, it was sheer disappointment for them as Kento Momota failed to rise on his toes and crashed out of the home event.
On the other hand, the Singaporean player showed strong character and locked the honour in a splendid manner.
Zi Liang is now scheduled to meet the prime Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram in the opening round of the main draw.
He surely will employ all of his confidence which he has earned through an unbeatable run in the qualifying round.
In his latest match, he the laid foundation of his dominance by clinching the very first match point with distinction.
He made his intentions clear by putting a decent total of 6-2 and then doubled the impact by reaching to a respectable score position of 11-7 before the interval.
Though, the Japanese campaigner showed some spark in the third quarter of the set but it was not enough to avoid a woeful defeat.
Zi Liang, who was the second seeded player in the qualifying round, proved his class with a flurry of well crafted strokes and bagged the first set with scoreboard flashing 21-13 margin in his favour.
The second set was just a replay of previous one as the Singaporean shuttler did not give his challenger even a single chance to bounce back and blew him away with a staggering knock.
Zi Liang started the ball rolling with three uninterrupted points and strengthened his grip by registering a notable figure of 11-3.
After the one-minute break, Kento Momota made swift progress but this short campaign could not make any difference.
He kept trailing behind his competitor until game point situation and gave up this futile chase after receiving a final blow of 21-14.
Tags: