Japan Open 2012: Taufik Hidayat tames Akira Koga to advance into Men’s Singles quarter-final
Indonesia’s experienced player Taufik Hidayat stretched his winning run and eased into Men’s Singles quarter-final after giving a severe lesson to his lower ranked local opponent Akira Koga in round-of-16 clash at Yonex Japan Open 2012 on Thursday, September 20, in Japan.
The former Olympic Champion Taufik, who has been ranked at number 12 and is the seventh seeded player in Men’s Singles main draw of the tournament, continued playing impressive badminton as he remained calm and composed on court and easily thrashed Akira in just 27 minutes.
Taufik has been working hard for the last one year to win a Super Series tournament but remained unable to make it happened.
However, in the absence of Chinese shuttlers at Japan Open, he did not face any considerable opponent in his way toward quarter-final.
Indonesian shuttler did not face any difficulty in pushing his lower ranked Japanese rival on back foot throughout the match and easily finished it up in straight games by putting up a huge difference on the score board.
The lower ranked Akira, in the meanwhile, failed to show his aggression against one of the most successful Indonesian shuttlers. He could not cope up with the planned and positive play of his challenger and eventually lost the battle without even getting close.
Taufik is known for his calm and composed temperament on court as he never shows the signs of confusion on his face which is one of the main characteristics of his personality and this temperament helps him to win big matches.
In the first game, Taufik played with precision and made his rival work hard in all areas of the court.
The Indonesian player was in tremendous form as all of his shots landed in targeted areas and he managed to set up a huge lead until the end of opening half.
After the mid-game interval, the higher ranked Indonesian player continued his positive play. His impressive back hand shots troubled Akira who did not find any way out to tackle the perfection of his opponent.
The seventh seeded Taufik remained in commanding position all the way to finish up the opening game with a crushing 21-11 score on the board.
In the second game, Akira tried to show his brilliance by executing powerful smashes but he failed to take any advantage as his rival was impressive in his defensive shots.
Until the break, the Japanese shuttler was again lagging far behind his opponent.
After the break, Taufik continued showing up his hard-to-learn skills while remaining smooth on court and easily ended up the set with a 21-10 score on the board.
Taufik registered a comprehensive win over Akira by finishing off the contest in straight games with a commanding margin of 21-11 and 21-10.
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