Lee Chong Wei smacks Anand Pawar in first round of Men’s Singles event – Japan Open Update
Men’s Singles maestro Lee Chong Wei registered his presence in the Yonex Japan Open as he thrashed Anand Pawar in the opening round on Wednesday, September 19, 2012.
World Number two shuttler took just 31 minutes to clear the first hurdle with a favourable score position of 21-13 and 21-9.
The Malaysian ace, who is the top seeded shuttler in this tournament, entertained the local crowd by displaying his badminton craft in Yoyogi National Stadium of Tokyo.
Chong Wei played with great precision and blew away his opponent by sealing a straight-set victory.
Now his next challenge will be to surpass Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and the critics are giving him better odds for a spot in the quarter-final round.
The two-time Olympic silver medallist Chong Wei will hardly face any trouble en-route to glory in the absence of his arch-rival Lin Dan of China. He has showed his intentions with an emphatic start of this tournament.
In the opening match, Chong Wei laid the foundation of his supremacy by ruling the court in the first set. He set himself in motion with three consecutive points after 2-1 and then continued with same pace in next couple of rallies.
At half time, the Malaysian badminton king was enjoying the upper hand in 11-8 total. He capitalised this advantage immediately after the break and mounted pressure by registering an indomitable margin of 16-10.
This deficit proved too heavy for the young Pawar and he knelt down after reading 13-21 score on the board.
Next game proved a one-sided affair as Chong Wei did not give the Indian player even a single counterattack opportunity and swept the table with a significant difference of twelve points.
He unleashed a series of masterly crafted strokes and confined his competitor in the rear court. This power packed campaign took him to a dominating position of 8-3.
Anand Pawar looked completely bewildered in front of the badminton king as he could pocket only nine points throughout this segment.
Chong Wei relished full benefits of this psychological edge and ensured his presence in the next round with a staggering knock of 21-9.
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