Arif Latif! Better luck next time - Badminton Feature
Right when the Malaysian badminton critics were discussing the future of talented national campaigner Mohammad Arif Abdul Latif, he gave a strong statement about his potential by surging into the semi-finals of Korea Grand Prix Gold.
Arif has been struggling to maintain his status in the arena for last couple of month as the lack of finishing skills brought him down in 2012 Bitburger Open, Taipei Open and Indonesia Open. He was expected to end this long streak of failures in Korea and
he raised his chances by performing exceptionally well in the preliminary rounds.
However, bad luck haunted him in this prestigious tournament also as he failed to lock the honour despite of having batter odds. He was the top seeded player in this GP Gold event but he knelt down in front of an unseeded Korean player in the semi-final
round.
World Number 35 shuttler was blessed with a dream draw as he did not find any world class player in his way to the final stages but he failed to made best out of this golden opportunity.
Arif Latif alarmed all the contestants by sealing a splendid victory over the Japanese shuttler Takuya Kotaka. This opening round match prolonged to 62 minutes and the Malaysian player ruled the court in most part of the encounter.
Though, he took some time to get settled but never lost the grip after getting into the commanding position. He displayed great fighting spirit and sealed an impressive win with a favourable result of 17-21, 21-17 and 21-14.
His next challenger was Park Sung Min of Korea in the pre quarter-final round. He was under huge pressure in this showdown as a significant number of local badminton lovers assembled to support the native shuttler.
However, Arif played with great conviction and silenced the crowd with a thundering performance. He wrapped this showdown in just two games and qualified for the round of eight. He laid foundation of his dominance in the opening game and maintained that
upper hand all the way to final stage of second set.
Finally, his hard work paid off and he raised hands as victor with scoreboard flashing remarkable figures of 21-19 and 21-16.
This timely win setup his next clash with another Korean campaigner Yim Jong Woo and this quarter-final tussle proved a real test of his mental and physical strength. He looked completely on song throughout this meeting and his straight-set victory was proof
of his supremacy in all departments of game.
Arif started with an authoritative approach and bagged the opening match point with distinction. He showed consistency in his performance and kept the opposing shuttler under control also in the following segment of the showdown.
He finished this crucial match with a favourable result of 21-16 and 21-16 to secure a semi-final berth in this GP Gold event.
Men’s Singles expert of Malaysia was up against an unknown player Lee Dong Keun and he was expected to have an easy run to the title match.
At this stage, Arif fell prey to bad luck and failed to live up to the expectations. He blundered in opening game before surrendering in the final set. This was a wrap and he had to bid farewell to 2012 Korea Open.
Such inconsistent openings and endings of the international tournaments have raised question about his presence in the national squad. Arif should develop his finishing skills to reducethe critics to silence with couple of international titles.
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