Lukas Schmidt beats Emil Holst to clinch Men’s Singles title at Croatian International 2012
Germany’s emerging shuttler Lukas Schmidt delivered a wonderful performance as he clinched Men’s Singles title after beating Denmark’s Emil Holst in the final showdown of Croatian International 2012 on Sunday, March 11, in Croatia.
The World Number 91 Schmidt, who was the eighth seed in Men’s Singles draw, worked really hard to register victory over Holst who has been placed at number 98 in the world standings.
The higher ranked German played to his maximum potential and overpowered his rival in three games by taking 50 minutes in the court.
Right from the opening points, both men showed their aggression by playing to their maximum potential and remained close on the score board.
Until the break in the opening set, no one could manage to take a convincing lead.
After the break, Holst accelerated his speed but failed to dominate the pace of rallies as his opponent was taking the bird early from all areas of the court.
Schmidt was in complete control in the ending phase of first set and managed to win it with a 21-18 score on the board.
In the second set, Holst became aggressive from the opening rallies and managed to take an early lead. He was taking the bird early and established a wonderful lead until the break.
After the interval, Schmidt tried to control the pace but failed to bridge the gap as his rival was playing positive badminton this time. He lost the second set with a huge deficit of 11-21.
In the decider, both men entertained the crowd by playing attacking and positive badminton and were equal on the score board.
No one could dominate the game in the opening half and the score remained close until the one-minute interval.
After the break, they continued playing positive game and reached in the ending phase without setting up any lead.
However, Schmidt managed to accelerate his speed at this crucial stage and scored the ending points to take the game with a close score of 21-19.
The German emerged as the winner of this 50-minute final match with a margin of 21-18, 11-21 and 21-19.
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