Canada Open 2012: Kazumasa Sakai stuns Hock Lai in second round of Men’s Singles event
Japan’s Kazumasa Sakai enthralled Hock Lai Lee in the second round and marched into Men’s Singles pre quarter-finals of Yonex Canada Open on July 12, 2012.
This 52-minute tussle was staged at local badminton arena of Richmond, Canada and both shuttlers played their heart out to read final result of 17-21, 21-9 and 21-16.
Kazumasa, who is in top form after winning Russia Open two weeks ago, played flawless badminton and passed this test by claiming ending two match points.
Meanwhile, the US shuttler put a fluctuating performance and crashed out despite winning the opening set of the match.
Hock Lai opened his marathon in perfect manner but he could not capitalise this early advantage and knelt down in crucial moments.
He started the first set with swift progress to 5-1 and mounted pressure by clinching next three points in a row.
Though, the opposing shuttler strived hard to narrow the gap with 7-9 but Hock Lai managed to place a decent total of 11-7 before the interval.
Later part of the game saw Kazumasa prevailing in four uninterrupted rallies in the third quarter and putting a fighting margin of 13-14.
The US campaigner did not remain grounded permanently and struck hard to finish first set with a favourable figure of 21-17.
However, the Japanese shuttler turned the tables in very next segment of the match. He managed to stay in the contest by winning this crucial set with a huge difference of 12 points.
Kazumasa, who is also seeded seven in this tournament, was bit confused in the start and kept struggling until 6-6 but he established unassailable lead with 11-6 total in first half.
After one-minute break, he did not give his challenger even a single opportunity to bounce back and swept the table with an overwhelming score of 21-9.
World Number 85 shuttler maintained this rhythm in the decider as he sealed 2-1 victory in an impressive manner.
Kazumasa set the ball rolling with seven continuous points in the beginning and stamped his supremacy by snatching last five points of 21-16 margin.
Now he will lock horns with Howard Shu in third round of this Grand Prix tournament.
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