Gurusaidutt unseats Parupalli Kashyap to claim quarter-final berth – China Masters Update
India’s spirited shuttler R. M. V. Gurusaidutt performed beyond expectations and stunned the higher ranked Parupalli Kashyap to gain access to the quarter-finals of Li Ning China Masters on September 13, 2012.
This hard fought battle remained in full swing for 66 minutes and both compatriot players challenged each other in all areas of the game while piling up a final result of 16-21, 21-18 and 21-4.
The 22-year-old Gurusaidutt came back from a horrendous start and smacked his rival down with a splendid 2-1 victory.
On the other hand, the World Number 19 Kashyap failed to employ all of his brilliance and experience in the game and crashed out of this Super Series.
In the opening game, he enthralled the opposing shuttler with a flurry of well crafted strokes which took him to a dominating position of 7-1.
He did not drop this pace in the next couple of rallies and placed an indomitable total of 11-5 before the interval.
After the one-minute break, the young Gurusaidutt made a swift progress and narrowed the gap by registering 11-12 score on the board.
However, Kashyap reinstated his dominance by gathering few valuable points in a row. He maintained a significant difference and bagged first set with 21-16 margin.
The second set was the most captivating chapter of this saga as both contenders put all they had to achieve their respective goals.
Kashyap was looking to finish this match in just two games while the opposing shuttler was hanging by a thread to stay alive.
Both players made this a memorable contest by putting an amazing performance. They remained close on points table until the final moment and this cliff-hanging set ended when Gurusaidutt raised his hands as victor after putting a winning figure of 21-18.
Unexpectedly, decider proved a dead contest as the prime Indian shutter Kashyap hardly put any resistance and lost this crucial set with a deficit of 17 points.
First sign of trouble came when he dropped six points in a row and allowed his challenger to proceed.
Gurusaidutt made best out of this opportunity and bagged first half with 11-1. He stole the limelight with 21-4 score and qualified for the quarter-finals where he is scheduled to meet Chen Long of China.
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