Canada Open 2012: Henri Hurskainen beats Kento Momota in Men’s Singles pre quarter-finals
Sweden’s Henri Hurskainen reserved the right to be in the top eight shuttlers of Yonex Canada Open after outshining Kento Momota in Richmond Oval badminton arena on July 12, 2012.
This hard fought Men’s Singles pre quarter-final match kept both campaigners head-to-head for 41 minutes before ending with final result of 22-20 and 23-21.
Though, Henri wrapped this match in just two games but he had to face strong resistance throughout this battle.
World Number 47 shuttler narrowly won both sets despite of having a psychological edge over his rival.
The lower ranked Japanese shuttler earned great deal of respect for his fighting spirit and walked tall while bidding farewell to this Grand Prix tournament.
Now the victorious Swedish shuttler is all set to take on Sattawat Pongnairat of USA in the quarter-final round.
Henri is determined to stay invincible in next encounter by utilising valuable experience of the third round where he sealed straight set victory in a pressure situation.
He made his intentions clear straight away in the beginning by snatching seven points in a row. He doubled the impact by reaching a dominating position of 11 before half time.
The opposing shuttler Kento Momota picked up the pace and caught his rival immediately after the interval.
He played with the right attitude and matched his opponent’s skills all the way to game point situation.
However, Henri utilised all the brilliance and struck hard when game was on a knife edge. He pocketed ending two points of 22-20 margin to gain an initial advantage.
The second set of the match proved even tougher contest as the Japanese campaigner dominated in most part of the game and aroused hopes that he will be able to avoid a 2-0 defeat.
In the first half, Kento started the ball rolling after 3-4 and enthralled his superior competitor in seven back-to-back rallies.
He confined Henri to the rear court with his powerful smashes and entered a respectable score of 11-4 before mid-game break.
After the interval, Kento made some fatal mistakes which triggered the collapse. His challenger did not miss this counter-attacking opportunity and bounced back with 18-18 in the final stage.
Henri Hurskainen showed strong character in crucial moments and emerged as victor with convincing figure of 23-21.
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