Liu Kai topples Ramadhan Arief Gifar in round-of-16 of the Badminton Asia Youth U-19 Championships
China’s Liu Kai reserved his place in the Boy’s Singles quarter-finals after toppling Indonesia’s Ramadhan Arief Gifar, in their round-of-16 clash at the Badminton Asia Youth U-19 Championships 2011, in Lucknow, India, on Thursday, July 7.
The Chinese finished-off the match in straight-sets against the Indonesian, who was the top seed in the Boy’s Singles draw of the event. The stunning performance of Liu earned him a place in the top eight shuttlers of the championship.
The first set started in a stunning fashion, where the Chinese wasted no time in setting up a comfortable lead against Arief Gifar by reaching 11-5. The Indonesian was clearly lacking the pace and power in his strokes, which helped the Chinese to take control
of the rallies and obtain a strong position in the opening game.
After the break in the first set, Liu continued his impressive play against the shaky Indonesian, who was making many errors in the game. The quick reflexes and speed of the young Chinese from the base line to all areas of the court earned him a considerable
advantage over his challenger, who was playing a little slower. Liu clinched the first game without any difficulty by a stunning score of 21-9, in just 13 minutes.
The second set was one of the most thrilling fights of the day, as both shuttlers were toe-to-toe in the whole game. Right from the start, nobody could manage a clear lead in the opening half of the game, where the score remained quite close.
After the break, both shuttlers played to their full potential and reached at the decisive stage of 21-21. The crowd went crazy with the speed and quality of the game displayed by the contestants. However, the Chinese geared his speed at the net and was
successful in scoring two successive points to win the set by a 23-21 margin, in 20 minutes.
Liu emerged as the winner of this Boy’s Singles straight-set battle with the score of 21-9 and 23-21, by taking 33 minutes of court time.
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