2012 Singapore International Series: Yip Jiun, Sook Chin earn a spot in Mixed Doubles second round
Mixed Doubles partners Yip Jiun Tan and Sook Chin Chong reserved a berth in the second round of Li-Ning Singapore International Series after trouncing Hendri Kurniawan Saputra-Lita Nurlita on August 15, 2012.
This hard fought opening round encounter lasted for one hour and both teams played their heart out to pile up a final result of 21-19, 22-24 and 21-13.
They tested each other’s skills throughout three gruelling sets and this splendid showdown kept the audience intact until the last shot was played.
The Malaysian duo proved themselves superior in the opening and closing sets as they earned the right to go against Alfian Eko Prasetya-Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja in the pre-quarter round.
On the other hand, the local shuttlers strived hard to save their honour but luck was not on their side and they had to surrender.
In opening game of match, both contenders made their intentions clear by putting up a commendable fight.
Finally, Yip Jiun and Sook Chin ended the race by making a giant leap with a few successive points. They placed a concluding figure of 21-19 after some hard work on the court.
However, this first set loss did not harm the opposing shuttlers much as they survived a nerve-racking tussle in the very next game.
The twosome of Hendri and Lita played with great conviction and got into authoritative position straight away in the beginning.
They maintained the upper hand all the way to half time and placed a decent total of 11 on the points table.
After one-minute break, they committed some unforced errors and the Malaysian campaigners capitalised this opportunity.
Yip Jiun and Sook Chin counter-balanced the situation by prevailing in some nonstop rallies but then their challengers reinstated their dominance in the final stage.
The Singaporean players showed strong character in this pressure situation and put a tight yet favourable margin of 24-22.
This development aroused the hopes of local spectators as they were expecting the natives to repeat their performance in the decider.
However, their hopes were buried when Yip Jiun and Sook Chin stole the limelight with a notable difference of eight points in 21-13 score.
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