2012 Syed Modi International: A woeful exit for Arif Latif from Men’s Singles event
It seems Malaysia’s Mohammad Arif Abdul Latif is still trying to regain his lost form as he frittered away a golden opportunity to rise and shine in the 2012 Syed Modi International India GPG which was staged in Lucknow, India.
World Number 35 Men’s Singles expert Arif Latif had a great start in this prestigious event as he remained invincible in first two rounds but could not capitalise his unbeatable run and crashed out of the tournament in a woeful manner.
The Malaysian campaigner was 7th seeded shuttler of this GP Gold event and he easily surpassed lower ranked opponents like Robin Gonansa and Andre Marteen in the preliminary stages.
However, he could not live up to the billing in the pre quarter-finals and surrendered tamely in front of R.M.V. Gurusaidutt. This crucial encounter remained in full swing for two sets and both contenders made every effort to secure a quarter-final berth.
The battle heated up immediately in the beginning of first set as Gurusaidutt did not give his rival enough time to get settled and confounded him with eight back-to-back productive rallies. He doubled the pressure by piling up a mountainous figure of 11
before the interval.
Arif Latif could not lift the burden of this deficit and knelt down in the latter of game. He resumed his campaign with low shoulders after the mid-game break. This passive approach hit him hard as he could pocket only five out of ending 15 points and lost
this set with 10-21 score.
Things became even worse in the following game as the young Indian shuttler played with great precision and transformed his 1-0 lead into a straight-set victory.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian player remained at the lower end throughout this set which proved decider later. He failed to match his challenger’s speed on the court and kept trailing behind until game point situation.
Arif Latif put a below par performance in the establishing rallies and allowed Gurusaidutt to gain an early advantage.
The spirited native shuttler did not squander this golden opportunity and finished first half of the set with a favourable score position of 11-7. He showed consistency in latter part of the game and kept his competitor under control.
Though, Arif strived hard to narrow the gap but his fluctuated performance was not enough to avoid a woeful exit. His magic did not prevail when it mattered and he had to bid adieu to this GP Gold event after reading 16-21 margin on the board.
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