German Open GP Gold: Simon Santoso overpowers Shon Wan Ho in Men’s Singles quarter-final
Indonesia’s Simon Santoso remained lucky as he overpowered Korea’s Shon Wan Ho with a tight margin in Men’s Singles quarter-final of German Open GP Gold 2012 at Mulheim, Germany, on Friday, March 2.
Santoso, who has been positioned at number 11 in world rankings, had to employ all of his skills to get rid of Wan Ho, who is World Number 17 at the moment.
The Indonesian, who was also the fifth seed in the tournament, could not dominate the rallies as his rival also played at the same level.
However, Santoso remained lucky in the ending points of third game and won the contest with a dramatic margin.
Both shuttlers played fast badminton from the opening rallies and remained close on the score board. They did not commit unforced errors and displayed their impressive skills.
After the break, the contest progressed in the similar entertaining fashion. However, Wan Ho managed a small lead in the ending points but could not maintain it as the Indonesian levelled the score at 19-19.
At this stage, Santoso could not produce positive strokes and committed a crucial mistake and lost the set with a 19-21 score on the board.
In the second game, Wan Ho was ahead at 4-1 when Santoso surprised the crowd by playing killing badminton. He grabbed 10 consecutive points to set up a wonderful lead of 11-4 until the break.
After the interval, Wan Ho played better game and reduced the lead of his Indonesian rival. However, Santoso remained ahead and won the second set with a close score of 21-19.
In the deciding game, it was Santoso who dominated the game in the first half and set up a good lead of 11-7 until the interval.
However, Wan Ho played well after the break and managed to level the score by reaching at 14-14. Both men progressed closely from this stage and reached at 21-21.
At this crucial stage, Santoso played composed game by taking the bird early from all areas and won the set with a 23-21 score on the board.
The overall score of this contest was 19-21, 21-19 and 23-21.
In the semi-final, Santoso will be up against Denmark’s Jan O Jorgensen who defeated Hong Kong’s Wong Wing Ki in the other quarter-final showdown.
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