Arif Latif trounces Iskandar Zulkarnain in semi-finals of 2012 Maybank National Circuit Pahang Open
Men’s Singles shuttler Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif employed all of his brilliance and earned a spot in the title match of Maybank National Circuit Pahang Open on Friday, October 12, 2012.
World Number 40 Arif, who was third seeded player in this tournament, thrashed Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin with final figures of 22-20, 22-24 and 21-18.
This hard fought tussle kept both shuttlers head-to-head for 74 minutes and they put all in their possession to gain access to the final round of this national event.
Both Malaysian players made their intentions clear straight away in the first set as they kept on chasing each other all the way to game point situation.
Initially, they played with cautious approach and kept overall pace of the rallies very slow but then Arif injected more intensity in his attack and made difference with 11-7 total.
After one-minute interval, he made some mistakes which allowed the opposing shuttler to narrow the gap.
Iskandar gathered few valuable points and made this tie a memorable contest by levelling the score 20-20.
However, Arif showed strong character under pressure situation and bagged ending two points of 22-20 margin.
The second set was even more tough trial of their physical and mental strength as neither of them could establish a permanent lead until final moments.
In first half of the set, the young but talented Iskandar played with authoritative approach and gained a decent advantage with 10-8 total but he could not go with the same flow in the next couple of rallies.
Later part of the game was filled with great sensation as both contenders did not allow each other to make a notable difference and match kept swinging between them until Iskandar registered a favourable figure of 24-22.
Third set turned into survival of the fittest war and both contenders strived hard to claim final match point.
They remained toe-to-toe until third quarter of the set and this semi-final encounter ended with Arif placing a decisive margin of 21-18.
Now he will be up against another talented compatriot shuttler Misbun Ramdan Misbun in the title match of 2012 Maybank National Circuit Pahang Open.
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