Kaori Imabeppu steps into the main round of the German Open Grand Prix Gold 2011 after defeating Sashina Vignes
In a women’s singles qualifying match of the German Open GP Gold 2011, Japan’s Kaori Imabeppu defeated Sashina Vignes Waran of France, yesterday on 1st March in Germany. The Japanese shuttler devoted 62 minutes to chuck out the French Lady after
a three set thrilling match. Kaori will be facing another Japanese player, Sayaka Sato, in the main round of the tournament.
In the category of women’s singles, the Japanese player, Kaori, remained unsuccessful to dictate the rallies because her opponent, Sashina of France, was remarkable in her shot selection and perfect execution. The score progressed equally from both sides
till the one minute interval of the first game, where the French was leading by 11-10. She stretched her lead to a 16-11 score and maintained this gap throughout the set and won it by a 21-15 score in 17 minutes.
Kaori delivered a superb performance in the second game and leveled the match by 1-1. The Japanese lady was speedier this time and took a quick lead in the opening half of the second set. After the interval, the French player narrowed the gap by 13-14, where
the Japanese again geared up the pace and clinched the game by a 21-18 margin in 20 minutes.
Both players lifted up the quality of the game in the third and deciding set of the match. The French and Japanese players remained toe-to-toe from the start of the game till the ending stage of the fight. In the opening half of the final game, both shuttlers
played quality game and stretched the rallies to avoid mistakes. The Japanese was leading by 11-10 in the first half of the match. In the remaining half of the set, Kaori started to extend the gap but the French was not far behind and even leveled the score
at 18-18.
At this crucial stage of the game, both ladies became defensive and were trying to avoid unforced errors. The Japanese player proved her skills at this stage by putting her tactics in the game. He played a tight and tumbling net shot, which forced the French
to lift the shuttle c**k high in the middle of the court. The Japanese grabbed the opportunity and smashed the shuttle down the ground. The point boosted the confidence of Kaori and she finished the match with a close margin of 21-19. The final score of this
superb battle was 15-21, 21-18 and 21-19.
Kaori will next meet her experienced team-mate, Sayaka Sato, in the main round of the German Open GP Gold 2011. Sayaka is one of the main contenders for the title as she is one of the most experienced players of Japan.
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