Malaysia Open GP Gold: Iskandar Zulkarnain overwhelms Sameer Verma in first round
Men’s Single shuttler of Malaysia, Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin cleared his first hurdle in Malaysia Open GP Gold by beating Sameer Verma of India in the opening round match on May 2, 2012.
Young Iskandar exhibited superior badminton skills and 49-minute tussle belonged to him with 21-13, 14-21 and 21-11 score on the board.
This win took him into the second round of the event where he will be up against his compatriot Beryno Jiann Tze Wong.
Earlier, in his opening match Iskandar unleashed his killing skills straight away in first set and outclassed his rival in all areas of the game.
The Malaysian lad faced a bit of trouble before half time as both competitors were locked at 7-7 but Iskandar managed to place a decent margin of 11-9 until one-minute break.
After interval, he raised his total to 17 by earning six consecutive points and this turned final blow to his opponent who surrendered after reading final figure of 21-13.
However, the spirited Indian shuttler stood tall in following game and turned his rival’s plan of a straight-set victory into dust.
The young Sameer Verma took some time to find his rhythm as he was trailing behind 9-11 until mid-game break but he got into commanding position with some uninterrupted rallies.
Sameer showered his expertise in last part of the game as he equalled the score at 13-13 and then served the notice of his supremacy by winning eight out of last nine points.
He bagged second set with a notable margin of 21-14 and setup a survival of the fittest war in the third set.
The decider was completely dominated by the Malaysian who kept his challenger busy in returning his masterly crafted strokes and did not give him any counter-attack opportunity.
World Number 112 Iskandar Zulkarnain gained a four-point advantage in the start but he committed some mistakes which allowed his rival to catch him at 7-7.
However, he reinstated his authority and placed a decent total of 11-8 before the interval. He maintained this momentum and added five quick points to reach 16-8 after mid-game break.
This score position helped Iskandar to seal the victory with a significant total of 21-11 and he ensured his presence in second round of the event.
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