London Olympics 2012: Parupalli Kashyap defies all odds to storm into Men’s Singles last-eight stage
India’s in-form shuttler Parupalli Kashyap surprised everyone by becoming the first male shuttler of the country who has qualified for the last-eight stage in Men’s Singles category at the London Olympics 2012, which is in progress at London, England.
The spirited Indian player showed his impressive temperament in the round-of-16 contest and overpowered Sri Lanka’s in-form player Niluka Karunaratne on Wednesday, August 1, at Wembley Arena, London.
The World Number 21 Kashyap, who have been putting in extra effort to prove his worth at international stage for the last couple of years, finally get a wonderful reward in the form of becoming India’s first Men’s Singles shuttler to reach into quarter-final
at Olympics.
However, it was not an easy task for the Indian shuttler to overcome his Sri Lankan rival who proved a stern test for Kashyap in the round-of-16 clash. However, the Indian shuttler won the battle with a 21-14, 15-21 and 21-9 score on the board.
The higher ranked Kashyap had to dig deep into his reserves to beat Niluka in a hard-fought rubber set competition.
After winning the battle, Kashyap said that it was physically demanding match and he was fatigued towards the ending stage of the contest.
He stated, “I was feeling a bit tired as he was retrieving everything. As the other side of the court was slower, my smashes, too, weren't effective but I decided to stay with him in rallies and that helped me in the end.”
He further added, "Luckily, I was able to change my game plan on time and engage with him in rallies to win through.”
In the opening game, Kashyap was in commanding position as he played with precision and spared no room for Niluka to earn points. He took the first game with a 21-14 score on the board.
However, things started to change in the following set when Niluka got a wonderful momentum and pushed Kashyap in all corners of the court.
The Indian player tried his best but failed to stop the progress of Niluka and lost the set with a margin of 15-21.
However, Kashyap played composed badminton in the final game by maintaining his focus on court and remained successful in sealing off the set with a huge margin of 21-9.
In the quarter-final fight, Kashyap will take on the top seed and World Number Two Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia who sent Indonesia’s Simon Santoso packing in the other pre-quarter-final clash.
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