Austrian International Challenge 2012: Chong Chieh Lok surges into Men’s Singles main round
Malaysia’s emerging player Chong Chieh Lok proved his mettle as he secured his place in the Men’s Singles main round of the Austrian International Challenge 2012, which is in progress in Austria.
In his last match of qualifying round, Chong Chieh narrowly defeated Bulgaria’s Krasimir Yankov on Thursday, February 23.
Chong Chieh was down in the opening set but he fought back in the match and won the following both games to stamp his supremacy over Yankov.
The Malaysian took 51 minutes in the court to overpower his Bulgarian rival in a thrilling rubber-set encounter.
In the opening set, Yankov was everywhere in the court as he did not spare even a single chance for his Malaysian opponent to dominate the game. Until the break in the first set, the Bulgarian established a comfortable lead.
After the break, Chong Chieh tried to impress the crowd by executing powerful smashes but failed to find gaps. He remained trailing far behind of his Bulgarian challenger in the opening set and lost it with a seven-point deficit of 14-21.
In the second game, Chong Chieh changed his strategy as he started to play fast and parallel game and remained successful in pushing his rival on back foot. The score was close from both sides until the end of first half.
After the break, the score again remained equal as both men played at their maximum speed. No one could establish his supremacy in the game until the concluding phase.
At this crucial stage, Chong Chieh played aggressive and flawless badminton and managed to win the set with a tight score of 21-19.
In the deciding set, both shuttlers kept the crowd engaged by keeping the tempo of rallies fast and remained close in the first half.
After taking rest for one minute, both men again tried their best to push each other in all corners of the court by playing with wonderful variations in their strokes.
However, Chong Chieh remained lucky in the final points as he got the chance to dominate the game and managed to win it with a 21-19 score on the board.
The final score of this breath-taking qualifying-round battle was 14-21, 21-19 and 21-19.
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