Malaysia Open GP Gold: Nozomi Okuhara narrowly beats Sannatasah Saniru in first round encounter
Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara had to employ all of her skills to defeat Sannatasah Saniru of Malaysia in first round encounter in Women’s Singles category at Malaysia Open GP Gold 2012 in Malaysia, on Wednesday, May 2.
Nozomi, who was un-seeded in the Women’s Singles main draw of the tournament, had to dig into her arsenal and she managed to overpower her Malaysian opponent with a narrow margin on the board.
In the opening set of the contest, both ladies played tremendous game and progressed closely in the opening rallies of the game.
However, it was the Malaysian who took a reasonable lead of 11-8 until the one-minute break.
After the interval, Nozomi tried to put up good show and levelled the score by playing positive badminton.
However, the Japanese lady failed to dictate the pace in the ending points of opening set and lost it with a 16-21 score on the board.
In the second set, Nozomi powered her way back by playing flawless badminton as she played with aggression and took an impressive 11-5 lead until the break.
After the one-minute interval, the Japanese continued her killing run in the game and did not show any mercy to her Malaysian opponent.
In the meanwhile, Sannatasah tried to reduce the deficit but failed to break the flow of her Japanese rival.
Nozomi, on the other hand, played with precision in the game and easily took the second set with a completely one-sided score of 21-12.
In the deciding set, both ladies entertained the Malaysian crowd by playing remarkable game as they did not miss any chance to take points.
Until the one-minute break in the decider, Sannatasah was moving ahead on the score board by reaching at 11-9.
After the break, Nozomi showed her brilliance as she changed her game plan and also accelerated her speed in all areas of the court.
The positive and elevated play of Nozomi disturbed the rhythm of Sannatasah in the ending phase of third set.
The Japanese lady was focused in the game at this crucial stage and took the final set with a 21-15 score on the board.
Nozomi won this entertaining rubber-set contest in 50 minutes with a thrilling margin of 16-21, 21-12 and 21-15.
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