Arif Latif powers his way to semi-final round of Men’s Singles event - Korea Open Update
Malaysia’s Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif stretched his winning streak in the Korea Grand Prix Gold and earned the right to be in round of eight of Men’s Singles event on December 7, 2012.
He was up against the Korean campaigner Jong Woo Yim who surrendered after reading decisive figures of 21-16 and 21-16.
World Number 35 Arif Latif, who holds top spot in this tournament ranking, employed all of his brilliance in the game and sealed a splendid straight-set victory.
This short but hard fought tussle took place in Hwasun-gun, Korea and a huge crowd gathered to support the native shuttler.
However, Jong Woo disappointed them by putting a below par performance and crashed out of the home event.
On the other hand, the Malaysian campaigner showed strong character in the pressure situation and locked the honour in a commendable manner.
Arif Latif laid foundation of his supremacy immediately in the beginning of first set and maintained that upper hand all the way to game point situation.
He prevailed in the establishing rallies and gained an early advantage which helped him to finish first half of the set with a respectable total.
After the mid-game break, he played with similar precision and confounded his competitor with an amazing craft on the court.
The Malaysian shuttler did not make even a single mistake and kept on moving forward at steady pace. He bagged most of the ending points and registered a winning margin of 21-16.
Next segments of the showdown saw him following an unusual game plan as he kept a low profile in the beginning and it felt that the opposing shuttler will easily avoid a straight-set defeat.
However, Arif struck hard when it mattered and turned the tables. He started the beating after remaining low in the establishing rallies and then made a swift progress to a commanding position of 11.
This lead proved a decisive factor as Jong Woo never came out of the deficit and knelt down after reading 16-21 score on the board.
Now Arif is just one step away from the title match and he will have to surpass Lee Dong Keun en route to the final round.
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