London Olympics: Mathias Boe, Carsten Mogensen struggle against Vladimir Ivanov, Ivan Sozonov
Denmark’s Mathias Boe-Carsten Mogensen displayed superb fighting skills and overwhelmed Vladimir Ivanov-Ivan Sozonov in group match of London Olympics at Wembley Arena on July 29, 2012.
They jumped at top position in Group C by winning this encounter with 16-21, 21-19 and 21-14 score on the board.
Though, they cemented their spot in Men's Doubles quarter-finals by sealing a 2-1 victory but their struggling form against a lower ranked team has put a question mark on their prospects in the mega event.
The World Number three Danish pair, who also holds third spot in tournament ranking, failed to read their rivals’ strategy in the opening game which cost them their first match point.
First sign of trouble came when they got down in four nonstop rallies straight away in the beginning.
Meanwhile, the Russian duo strengthened its grip over game by gathering valuable points at a steady pace.
Vladimir and Ivan forged productive chemistry and widened the gap with 8-4 total. They did not lose this rhythm and dictated their opponents all the way to mid-game break.
They established a comfortable lead of five points in the first half and maintained this advantage until the winning margin of 21-16.
However, their supremacy was short lived as they made fatal mistakes in crucial moments of the second set and squandered a golden opportunity of straight-set victory.
The Danish campaigners switched on the best after going one down and counter-balanced the situation by prevailing in the very next game.
This time they played with great determination which proved too much for their competitors. They got into commanding position with 7-4 and then magnified the impact with 11 points on scoreboard before the interval.
After one-minute break, the Russians put some extra effort but luck was not on their side and they lost with decisive figure of 19-21.
The twosome of Mathias and Carsten ruled the court in the decider as they bagged the final match point in even more impressive manner.
They mounted pressure by ending first half as leading contenders and then served notice of their supremacy in the second half of the set.
They registered an overwhelming result of 21-14 and setup next clash with Chai Biao-Guo Zhendong of China.
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