India Open Grand Prix Gold: Taufik Hidayat beats Wong Wing Ki to reach in the Men’s Singles final
Indonesia’s Taufik is one step away from winning his first title of current year as he has reached in the Men’s Singles final of the 2011 India Open Grand Prix Gold. In the semi-final showdown, he defeated Hong Kong’s Wong Wing Ki at the indoor arena in
Lucknow, India, on Saturday, December 24.
The second seed of the event, Taufik, who has been placed at 12th position in the Men’s Singles world standings, played to his maximum potential and employed his experience to win the match in three games. He had to work hard for 71 minutes to
overwhelm Wing Ki in a thrilling contest.
In the first game, he played with precision and tamed his opponent with a good score. However, he failed to control the pace of the rallies and lost the set with a comfortable margin. In the deciding game, he utilised his extensive experience and won the
set with a decent difference.
The opening set was quite thrilling when both shuttlers reached at 9-9. At this stage, the Indonesian started to target the loop poles of his opponent and managed to reach at 11-9. He remained positive in the whole set and finished it with a comfortable
difference of 21-16.
In the second game, Wing Ki changed his style of play and started to prolong the rallies. His perfect drives in all corners of the court spared no chance for Taufik to fight back in the set. The Hong Kong shuttler continued his impressive run in the second
game by showing no respect to his rival. Taufik lost the set with a six-point difference of 15-21
In the final set, Taufik played fast badminton and spared no room for his challenger to place his strokes. He reached at 11-9 until the one-minute interval in the deciding set of the match. Wing Ki tried to bridge the gap but his higher ranked opponent was
quicker in taking the bird.
Taufik played controlled game and won the set with a decent score of 21-18. The semi-final contest ended in 71 minutes with a score of 21-16, 15-21 and 21-18.
In the final contest, Taufik will fight against the winner of India’s Sourabh Varma and Thailand’s Suppanyu Avihingsanon.
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