Cai Yun, Fu Haifeng raise their chances of a quarter-final berth – London Olympics Update
China’s top Men’s Doubles team Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng played flawless badminton against Ingo Kindervater-Johannes Schoettler and elevated their chances for a ticket to quarter-final round in London Olympics on July 29, 2012.
This tussle was a Group A match, staged at court number 3 of Wembley Arena and it got resolved in just two games with 22-20 and 21-16 margin.
The top seeded Chinese duo registered a straight-set win and setup next clash with Fang Chieh Min-Lee Sheng Mu of Chinese Taipei.
This encounter is going to be feast for the eyes as both contenders will be looking to end preliminary round as group winner to receive a favourable draw in the knockout stage.
World Number two pair Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng will surely utilise all of their brilliance to remain invincible en-route to quarter-finals of the mega event.
Earlier, they registered their class against German team by performing exceedingly well in both sets of the match.
Though, they took some time to read their rivals’ game in the first set but still managed to survive this nerve-racking part of the battle.
In first half, they kept stepped forward cautiously and allowed the opposing team to gain an early advantage but they did not remain at lower end permanently and rose from the dust just before the interval.
The Chinese maestros showed superb coordination and finished the first half with a respectable position on the points table.
Though, they committed some fatal mistakes in the third quarter of the set which weakened their grip but they reinstated their dominance in final stage and bagged first set with a tight yet decisive margin of 22-20.
However, Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng did not face much trouble in second set as they sealed their victory with a notable difference of five points.
They kept a low profile in the beginning but stunned their competitors with an intensive campaign in the end.
The team of Ingo and Johannes made every effort to avoid a straight-set defeat but their performance was not up to the mark.
On the other hand, Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng showed consistent progress and emerged as victors with 21-16 score on the board.
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