2012 London Olympics: Parupalli Kashyap beats Niluka Karunaratne to ease into quarter-finals
India’s prime Men’s Singles campaigner Parupalli Kashyap enthralled Niluka Karunaratne to ensure his presence in quarter-final round of London Olympics on August 1, 2012.
This epic pre quarter-final tussle was staged at Wembley Arena and both shuttlers pushed each other all the way to three gruelling sets to pile up a concluding margin of 21-14, 15-21 and 21-9.
World Number 21 Kashyap played with great conviction and locked the honour by prevailing in opening and ending segments of the encounter.
However, real challenge awaits him in round of eight where he is scheduled to meet top seeded Malaysian maestro Lee Chong Wei.
Though, it will be an uphill task to surpass the badminton king but he will put all in his possession to escort his country to glory.
So far, Kashyap has alarmed all the top contenders with his impressive run in the mega event. He thrashed World Number 11 Tien Minh Nguyen in preliminary rounds and then utilised this confidence in the pre quarter-finals.
The Indian campaigner started his run with an intensive attack and confounded Niluka Karunaratne in the opening rallies of first set.
He dictated his rival all the way to mid-game break and finished the first half with an indomitable total of 11.
Later part of the game saw Kashyap at his best as he did not commit even a single mistake and outclassed the opposing shuttler with significant figure of 21-14.
However, the Sri Lankan player did not remain at lower end permanently and lived his moment of glory in second set of the match.
This time Niluka played with the right attitude and fortitude to stay in the contest and successfully avoided a straight-set defeat.
In the first half, he did not show any sign of confusion and gained an early advantage which helped him throughout this crucial game.
He maintained a decent lead until game point situation and bagged second set with 21-15 score on the board.
The decider was expected to be a nerve-racking fight but Kashyap proved all the predictions wrong by making it completely one-sided affair.
He proved his supremacy technically and tactically and raised hands as champion after reading 21-9 margin.
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