Alejandro Nogueira moves forward to semi-finals of 9 PCN- Sub 13 y Sub 17-A Estrada
Spain’s inexperienced but talented shuttler Alejandro Nogueira played impeccable badminton in the second round of 9 PCN- Sub 13 y Sub 17-A Estrada and powered his way to semi-finals on January 3, 2012.
He was up against the Men’s Singles expert Angelo Silva of Portugal and their meeting lasted for 49 minutes.
They challenged each other in all areas of the game and earned great deal of admiration while piling up decisive figures of 17-21, 22-20 and 21-19.
In first set of the match, Angelo Silva played with great precision and bagged this vital match point but he could not go with same flow in the following games.
On the other hand, the native shuttler showed a transformed character and locked the honour in a splendid manner.
Alejandro took some time to read his rival’s strategy and this cost him a valuable match point. He looked bit confused in the beginning of first set as he dropped many points in a row and allowed his challenger to gain an early lead.
Though, the Spanish campaigner made every effort to tip the scale in his favour but he had to surrender after reading 17-21 score on the board.
However, Alejandro did not remain at the lower end permanently and managed to rise from the dust in very next game.
This time he played with an authoritative approach from very first stroke and maintained an upper hand until last shot was played.
In first half of the set, he mounted pressure by prevailing in couple of uninterrupted rallies and then magnified the impact by registering a notable figure of 11.
After the mid-game break, Angelo showed some spark and levelled the score in third quarter of the set but lack of good finishing skills hit him hard with 20-22 total.
The decider proved real test for both contenders as they were looking to ensure their presence in the semi-finals by claiming this final match point.
They stood toe-to-toe in most part of the game but then Alejandro struck hard and tipped the scale in his favour. He sealed his splendid win with an overwhelming margin of 21-19.
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