Arif Latif tames Vladimir Ivanov on route to pre quarter-finals of 2012 Hong Kong Open
Malaysia’s talented campaigner Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif played impeccable badminton and sent Vladimir Ivanov packing in the Yonex Sunrise Hong Kong Open on Wednesday, November 21, 2012.
This Men’s Singles tussle kept the audience intact for 24 minutes as both contenders put all in displayed impressive badminton craft while piling up 21-18 and 21-8 margin.
World Number 39 Arif, who is an unseeded player in this Super Series, served notice of his potential by sealing a straight-set win.
Meanwhile, the Russian campaigner looked completely confused as he failed to come out of his rival’s influence throughout this encounter.
The Malaysian shuttler made his intentions clear straight away in the beginning of first set as he unleashed a series of masterly crafted strokes and bagged valuable points in a row.
Arif mounted pressure by registering 5-1 total and then relished full benefits of this initial lead to keep his challenger at the lower end.
He pushed his competitor in all areas of the court and strengthened his grip over the game by putting an indomitable figure of 11-3.
Later part of the game was filled with great sensation as Vladimir made a swift progress by prevailing in couple of uninterrupted rallies and caught his opponent with 12-12 score on the board.
The Russian shuttler kept on moving forward at a steady pace but it was not enough to avoid an 18-21 defeat.
After this severe blow, Vladimir could not rise from the dust and remained at the lower end in the following game.
He failed to employ an effective counter-attack strategy and crashed out of this prestigious event in a woeful manner.
On the other hand, Arif showed an elevated craft and bagged this vital match point with distinction.
He started the beating from the very first stroke and maintained that rhythm until last shot was played.
He piled up a respectable margin of 7-0 and then finished first half of the set by placing an indomitable total of 11.
After the mid-game break, Arif played with similar precision and locked the honour with a staggering knock of 21-8.
Now he will lock horns either with Du Pengyu or Hu Yun in the pre quarter-finals of this tournament.
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